Find your new cloud home in 7 days with Launchpad by Ascend

Simon Edward • 5 July 2024

Are you ready for the cloud? Find out with Launchpad, our cloud readiness tool that's built for business.

Here's the situation. You're a business that wants to migrate workloads to the cloud. This could be from an on-prem data centre to a public cloud or from one cloud environment to another.

You're convinced that doing so will be good for business, saving you money and unlocking new operational efficiencies. It will be good for all parties involved: your staff, your stakeholders and your clients.

But something is holding you back. It's the prospect that maybe you're just not ready.

It could be that you don't have full visibility into your workloads. It could be that you're unclear about the size of the environment you need. It could be that you need to make the financial case before getting authorisation.

It could be any number of things – but in all these situations, what you're looking for is the reassurance that either you need to make some adjustments or (best case scenario) that you're good to go.

At Ascend, we know the cloud like few others on Earth. And we know that for every company we successfully move to a new cloud environment, there's another that can't bring itself to press the button and kickstart the process.

That's why we've introduced Launchpad: a service that puts your infrastructure under the microscope and tells you whether or not you're ready to make the move. You get detailed, clear recommendations in just seven days.

But before we look at how Launchpad can help you, let's clear something up. Why is cloud readiness so important in the first place?

Why is cloud readiness important?

In life, there are times when a leap of faith can pay off. But take it from us – when it comes to cloud migration, the readiness is all.

Why? Because if you move before you're ready, you're storing up problems for later on. Problems that are going to soak up time, energy and resources. Problems that, to put it crudely, are going to cost you money.

All sorts of things go wrong, but broadly speaking there are three risks that the unready run.

1. Overpaying

Overpaying is the number one complaint from businesses about the cloud. But typically, the over-spend is down to one simple reason: a lack of preparation.

It's such a common phenomenon that it has a name: cloud shock. It's the IT equivalent of booking a budget flight and then realising how many hidden extra costs you'll need to pay to make the journey work.

2. Security and compliance

We live at a time when security and compliance are more important than ever. There are three reasons for this.

The sheer amount of sensitive data that the average business handles.
The ever-increasing competence of hackers, phishing agents and other cyber criminals.
The fact that security breaches are now punishable with a fine.

A data breach is bad for everyone – your staff, your customers and your stakeholders. Rushing into a migration increases the chances of security and compliance problems down the line.

3. Suboptimal performance

The third and final risk you run if you're not cloud-ready is to consign yourself to a future of suboptimal performance. This means a sluggish user experience for all levels of the company.

So, how do you avoid these three traps? The answer is knowledge.

What do you need to know to be cloud-ready?

The more you know about your business's needs, goals and systems, the better you can plan your migration. Here's a checklist of questions to answer before signing on the dotted line.

How will this migration benefit your business?
Is your data ready?
Is your business ready for the change?
Will your new cloud environment be secure and compliant?
Are your employees ready?
Can you make the move without causing disruption?

These aren't always easy questions to answer. If you're unsure, you can get IT on the case. Or you can bring in outside help in the form of our Launchpad offering.

How does Launchpad work?

Launchpad furnishes you with the facts you need to execute a strong migration that works for your business – and it just takes seven days. The process is split up into three phases.

Phase one (day one): we get to work retrieving and collecting data, identifying the workloads that need to be migrated and those that can be scrapped.

Phase two (days two to six): we analyse the data, target environment sizing and make recommendations for your cloud transformation.

Phase three (day seven): we send you our findings and recommendations in a clear, concise report.

If, at the end of the seven days, you're good to go, we can manage the migration from start to finish, giving you peace of mind that the process is in the hands of certified VMware experts.

What can Launchpad do for you?

The main aim of Launchpad is to give you the straight dope about your cloud readiness. But it has several other benefits too.

First, the process won't interfere with your day-to-day operations. We pride ourselves on getting stuck in without getting in anyone's way. This applies to the Launchpad process itself as well as any subsequent migration.

Secondly, it will help you to unlock cost savings. No one is pretending that cloud migration is cheap. But work with us and you can be sure you're getting the best deal available.

Thirdly and finally, you can be confident that your migration is in line with up-to-the-minute security and compliance concerns.

Conclusion

Cloud readiness can make the difference between a smooth migration and a headache in the post. Our Launchpad service enables you to have full visibility of your workloads, peace of mind about compliance, and the confidence that your migration will take you to a cloud environment that's secure, optimised and cost-effective.

Are you looking for a cloud readiness assessment? Find out what Launchpad can do for you. Get in touch today for a free, no-obligation consultation.

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