The cloud is a very commonly used, yet often misunderstood, service. Whether we know it or not, the cloud is used every day from wide scale corporate data storage to a simple picture taken on an iPhone during your family trip to Florida. In order to help your customer get the best deal possible, it is important to understand their business and technology landscape before diving into cloud conversations. Here are four questions to ask before helping your client procure a cloud solution.
1. What is the customer trying to accomplish?
First and foremost, it is important to understand what exactly the customer is trying to accomplish. Before you start the conversation on what to procure, you must know what challenges you’re solving for and what your client’s goals are. Are you trying to innovate and position the business to be more competitive, or fix existing problems, such as a crashing server or outdated operating system? Having the option to innovate or, having the ability to fix problems will allow the company to focus on what makes their business money and better supports their end users.
2. What is currently in place today?
Next, it is important to know the state of the customer’s business. You should work with your customer to understand what hardware or processors they have in place, whether it’s paid off or not, and what RAM and memory they use to name a few considerations. This information provides important insight that allows us to help you build the best solution for your client.
3. Where are the company’s backups?
The RAM, CPU, and storage are all key components of backups. It is essential to know the location of those backups. If you are informed that the customer’s backups are on a local device or on-site, this is an opportunity to offer a more secure cloud storage location. Backing up information offsite should be the bare minimum as it reduces susceptibility to unforeseen disasters and keeps your data safe. This will ensure that your business stays up and running.
4. What applications does the customer have?
When you know what applications your customer uses, you will open the door for licensing conversations. Knowing whether they use Microsoft, Linux for their operating systems, or SQL servers, for instance, will tell you a lot about the requirements of the company and how to best support them.
Once you and the customer have worked out these essential details, you will be more than ready to provide them with the best cloud solution. If you would like to learn more about cloud, give us a call at 703-594-5200. We’re happy to help you find the right fit for your infrastructure requirements.
