We recently found an article on a site created for government employees, NextGov.com, called Seven Tips for Journeying into the Cloud written by Glenn K. Davidson from EquaTerra, a global IT consulting firm. We think it provides some great tips for everyone, regardless of their industry, as they start to consider moving toward cloud computing. The seven tips Glenn Davidson developed are provided below. If you want to view the full article, you can do so at NextGov.com.

To deliver these services, providers such as IBM and CSC Corp. and high-tech firms such as Google and Amazon are building massive clouds. The marketplace continues to expand. But keep in mind that cloud computing, for all its promise, is not quite a plug-and-play solution. Otherwise, everyone would be doing it. Instead, cloud computing, like any sourcing option, requires careful analysis and planning. Consider these steps for moving to the cloud.

1. Review your company’s applications.   How might they work in a cloud? What would be involved in making them Internet-ready? If you have noncritical applications that require dedicated infrastructure but are used infrequently, consider outsourcing these to a cloud platform, while focusing in-house IT resources on mission-critical functions. Or, if you have a slate of applications as part of an Enterprise Resource Planning platform, those might run well on a cloud, which could help reduce infrastructure costs and improve users’ access to organizational tools.

2. Start with a pilot.  Cloud computing could be a way to handle sudden spikes or overflows company’s workload can be transitioned to the cloud in the near term, and then use these quick hits to evaluate the benefits, build support and develop a roadmap for migrating other services to the cloud.

3. Plan for transitional costs.  Despite the cost advantage, you’ll still need to invest in the transition to cloud computing. Preparing custom applications to run on the cloud, for example, will be a labor-intensive activity, and you also might have to support legacy applications that can’t run on the cloud. In addition, the full implementation of cloud computing can be an expensive, multiyear transition for large departments.

4. Plan for additional costs.  Beyond the transition, carefully consider what other costs could arise. For example, should you include support costs for cloud applications? If these aren’t included in the deal, you might have to build this capability internally, or purchase it as an additional service.

5. Assess the risks.  Cloud computing, like other sourcing strategies, has its risks; you need to think about how to protect the data. If you outsource data storage to a cloud beyond company firewalls, could it raise the risk of it being compromised? How will a service provider’s security measures affect your compliance with, say, the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which requires organizations to secure personal medical data, or other regulatory guidelines? There also are risks that could affect performance. Leasing space on a cloud, after all, means you’re dependent on someone else’s capacity. Downtime, even if it’s scheduled, will directly affect your access to resources.

6. Plan for change management.  Cloud computing is still an emerging technology and might not be widely understood by all. For example, your constituents and internal customers suddenly will have instant access to servers, storage and computing platforms, all of which were once controlled by the IT office. This change will require education of both parties.

7. Select the right service provider.  To achieve your goals and manage risk, it’s critical to choose your provider carefully and to draw up an effective contract. For instance, how do you design and enforce service-level agreements? What would happen in the event of a planned or unplanned outage? How are the service provider’s fees structured? Are there hidden costs for support and other services? Once data moves to the cloud, who owns the information? What are the risks and rewards of an open-source environment?