Frank Jennings

Coronavirus is driving digital transformation

Covid-19 is the wrecking ball on the C-suite’s refusal to embark upon digital transformation. With the country in lockdown and staff unable to travel, Coronavirus has meant many people are having to work from home and it has led to a massive uptick in cloud adoption. Many businesses were woefully unprepared for this. Of course, a jump into cloud now is better than the business failing but when the dust settles it is probably worth a look at what you signed up for.

Your priorities may vary depending upon what exactly you’re looking to achieve by using cloud but here are my suggestions of the 7 key areas you should consider.

  1. Check the SLA. Does it do what you need it to? Don’t forget, the sales promises don’t always make it to the availability calculations in the SLA. Oh, and check the carve outs for “as is” service and “scheduled maintenance” etc
  2. Are there service credits? How do you claim them and are they worth the bother? Also, are they your “sole and exclusive” responsibility.
  3. Does a move to cloud mean you lose control over how you deploy your IT? Letting the cloud provider take charge isn’t automatically a good thing. What happens to your IT staff?
  4. Data. Where is it stored? Is it secure? Whose responsibility is that? Is it backed-up? What’s their stance on GDPR?
  5. How long is the contract term? Can you end the contract after the lockdown? Can the provider even if you’re not ready? Can you migrate back in-house or to another provider?
  6. What’s your DR strategy? What happens if the cloud provider goes bust? Do they have your backed-up data or do you?
  7. Can you audit or inspect the provider’s operations? Can the ICO or FCA?

If you’ve transformed your business in a hurry, you should now take the time to think about what you signed up for and whether it’s appropriate to your needs. Most contracts are dull or drafted in legalese, so instruct your lawyer to read the terms you’ve agreed to and make sure you’re adequately protected. Or at least get them to tell you what the risks are so you can plan around them. Oh and don’t ask your mate at the pub / golf partner / LinkedIn buddy who “knows this stuff”.

If you want my free guide on these 7 key steps or if you want me to provide more detailed advice on your cloud terms, get in touch.

If you need advice, contact me f.jennings@teacherstern.com or +44 (0) 20 7611 2338.

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