The best time to look at The Cloud is if you are starting a new firm and have a clean sheet to work with. However, it is equally as relevant if you are looking to modernise or replace ageing equipment. If you are already facing a considerable bill for upgrading your existing office based IT infrastructure, then The Cloud could offer you a compelling alternative.
If you have recently invested in a new on premise system then the time may not be quite right for you just now, perhaps until you have realised your investment.
However, Cloud brings many different benefits that could be worth considering alongside your on premise solution and The Cloud’s ability to provide you with data backup and a disaster recovery alternative is just one of many complementary provisions that are worth exploring.
Clearly, you need good reliable broadband along with the support of a trustworthy cloud provider such as ZmartManager to make it work well but the benefits are clear as outlined in our “Why Cloud?” page.
To help assess your readiness, we have assimilated 20 key questions for you to consider.
If you can answer yes to at least 10 of the following 20 questions then you are well on the way to being ready.
Answer yes to at least 15 of these questions then we suggest that you could be ready.
1. Is your server nearing end of life or overdue for replacement?
2. Are you currently paying a high cost for server maintenance that you can save by going Cloud?
3. Do you currently face an expensive bill to replace your server?
4. Is your local application software out of date and possibly even no longer supported?
5. Are you using an outdated version of Microsoft Office?
6. Are you fearful when you are confronted with an IT issue?
7. Do you feel your internal IT systems are too complicated?
8. Do you have a good, fast and reliable broadband package?
9. Have you researched Cloud and are mindful that it could be that way forward?
10. Are you happy that a Cloud provider can offer you a compliant solution?
11. Is your IT maintenance company willing to support your Cloud move?
12. If not, and you are you willing to consider changing your IT support partner?
13. Are your email mailboxes filling and becoming restrictive in size?
14. Are you worried that your backups aren’t being done properly?
15. Is your lack of a tested disaster recovery plan of concern to you?
16. Are you still managing your own email mailboxes on your local server?
17. Would you like shared diaries but don’t have the capability in your system?
18. Do you want to improve your branch office communications for sharing data?
19. Do you want to introduce more flexible working and mobility for your staff?
20. Is your existing Practice Management Software clunky and restrictive?
2. Are you currently paying a high cost for server maintenance that you can save by going Cloud?
3. Do you currently face an expensive bill to replace your server?
4. Is your local application software out of date and possibly even no longer supported?
5. Are you using an outdated version of Microsoft Office?
6. Are you fearful when you are confronted with an IT issue?
7. Do you feel your internal IT systems are too complicated?
8. Do you have a good, fast and reliable broadband package?
9. Have you researched Cloud and are mindful that it could be that way forward?
10. Are you happy that a Cloud provider can offer you a compliant solution?
11. Is your IT maintenance company willing to support your Cloud move?
12. If not, and you are you willing to consider changing your IT support partner?
13. Are your email mailboxes filling and becoming restrictive in size?
14. Are you worried that your backups aren’t being done properly?
15. Is your lack of a tested disaster recovery plan of concern to you?
16. Are you still managing your own email mailboxes on your local server?
17. Would you like shared diaries but don’t have the capability in your system?
18. Do you want to improve your branch office communications for sharing data?
19. Do you want to introduce more flexible working and mobility for your staff?
20. Is your existing Practice Management Software clunky and restrictive?