As the world becomes technology-driven, cloud computing has become an integral part of daily life, especially for regional businesses. The cloud helps companies organise their data and keep a backup of every single piece of information used for product development and customer experience enhancement. However, many organisations are still putting off migrating their infrastructure to the cloud.

So what may be the reason organisation are not ready for the cloud; and the risk associated with them not moving to the cloud?

According to cloud computing research, most organisations may lack IT personnel, while others fear the loss of accessibility. Furthermore, the organisational decision-makers are constrained because of the cost. Meanwhile, Fayez Eweidat, senior director – of META at Juniper Networks, observes security as one of the biggest concerns surrounding public cloud adoption. __In an article written by Divsha Bhat in "GulfBussiness.com," Eweidt stated:__*text in italic* "As more companies empower a work-from-anywhere workforce, access to cloud-based applications provides a seamless experience from home to office. However, some companies are hesitant to walk down this path due to concerns about how to transition their existing security, policies and frameworks and continue to meet their compliance commitments,” he added.

Another barrier to cloud adoption is the shortage of cloud skills, which can easily impede cloud transformation projects. However, organisations wanting to move to the cloud are also held back by the rigidity of their legacy systems. The reality is that the larger the organisations, the longer the legacy systems have been in place.

So, what then at the risk of these companies not moving to the cloud?

So, what risks are associated with an organisation not moving to the cloud? With the cloud at the centre of all digital transformation journeys, businesses may not be able to capture more extensive opportunities, and they could face limitations on scalability, where the cost would be too high for them to grow because of traditional IT spending that utilises funds that the business could instead use for growth initiatives or innovation. __In an article written by Divsha Bhat in "GulfBussiness.com," Candid Wuest, vice president – Cyber Protection and Research at Acronis, stated:__*text in italic* “Not being part of the cloud community reduces the intelligence of a business. According to him, business intelligence and data analytics need a good understanding of data collection and storage. Not having a robust cloud storage system supporting your business can, therefore, leave a negative impact on having to dig into your data, making the ‘risks’ of not moving to the cloud.

However, Eweidat added that before investing in the cloud, organisations should consider how it aligns with their overall business strategy and understand which workloads are best suited to run on the cloud. In short, investing in the cloud must be aligned with developing strategic initiatives. Primarily, an organisation should consider security, compliance, hidden costs, networking, complexities and performance before investing in a cloud environment. Additionally, the preparedness of the team to manage not only the technical aspects of migration and ongoing operations but also the business considerations of optimising costs and assuring compliance are critical factors. Lastly, organisations must assess the technical readiness of any application before moving it to the cloud.

Credit: Divsha Bhat "GulfBussiness.com."