What’s Next? 4 Optimization Tips for Companies that Rushed to the Cloud

… any data limits that may pertain to the services they use. Observe data limits for mailboxes, document folders, and more, which may vary depending on the company’s operational functions.

3. Clean house of irrelevant data. One contributor to data sprawl is a transfer of duplicated or unnecessary data. Moving to the cloud is a perfect opportunity to clean house of any unused or redundant data. Doing so will minimize the amount of storage occupied by irrelevant data, reduce sprawl and strengthen data security.

Businesses must take measures to prevent sprawl as their organizational and compliance protocols allow. A few common areas to monitor include active accounts tied to former employees, existing documentation that’s no longer aligned to current business processes, and marketing assets that are no longer relevant. Additionally, putting the IT department in charge of channel creation in platforms like Microsoft Teams can help reduce the creation of single-use channels, a frequent contributor to sprawl.

Eliminating unnecessary data will help streamline productivity, as employees will not need to search far and wide for the data they need. Cloud migrations are always an opportunity to transform, reorganize and reduce clutter.

4. Hire a data governance lead. Hiring an expert is never a bad idea, especially with the unfamiliarity that digital transformation can bring. A data governance lead can arrive already well-versed in best practices that your company should adopt. They can report to the CTO or CIO, and it can prove a worthwhile investment to have an individual who truly owns and understands governance.

Perhaps most importantly, a data governance lead can define the reporting and methodologies for monitoring data resources, allocating and applying technology resources, and measuring costs. Governance is not solely about using technology; it is about the proactive use of technology and proactively using it in responsible ways. This includes having access to data on demand.

Investment in a governance lead can be via a new hire or even a third-party solution. It all depends on your business’s needs and what works best in gaining better insight into your systems to make better decisions.

A Catalyst for Change

To ensure your IT environment is humming along smoothly, businesses must be proactive in implementing governance measures into their larger cloud strategy. Keeping governance top of mind will help mitigate data sprawl, improve operations and boost employee satisfaction. A cloud migration can serve as a catalyst to introduce a true governance model – take advantage of the opportunity now, and it will pay off in dividends later.

Frank Suglia is vice president of technical sales at BitTitan, where he works with the company’s partners to showcase and drive new and recurring revenue. His areas of expertise include SaaS, digital marketing and performance optimization, enterprise solution delivery, technology sales and delivery methodologies, and user interface design. You may follow him on LinkedIn or @BitTitan on Twitter.