While Microsoft’s Azure has quickly become a leading cloud computing platform, Microsoft’s Azure is a public cloud platform offering services such as analytics, computing, storage and networking. It provides flexibility for your business to pick and choose the solutions that they need. However, the Azure implementation process can come with some pitfalls. Take the following eight pitfalls into consideration to ensure a smooth and successful integration. 

Azure Implementation Pitfall #1: Licensing Woes 

There are many different licensing options available from Azure. Microsoft and third-party vendors offer a vast array of options available for applications and services available from Azure. It is extremely important to understand all the licensing options available before beginning your implementation journey. It is easy to over-license users or miss out on services that could significantly benefit your business. 

Azure Implementation Pitfall #2:  Forgetting to Pre-plan 

It is vital to pre-plan your deployment, especially when premise servers overlap with Azure services. This approach can give your organization a lot of flexibility but during implementation, it can cause outages and service disruptions. Therefore, it is important to create a strategy that considers network connectivity and data security.  

Azure Implementation Pitfall #3: Security Shortcomings

It is becoming more important to ensure your organization’s cybersecurity and it is extremely important to ensure your cybersecurity during an Azure implementation. Follow your organization’s best practices for cybersecurity when migrating. 

Train employees on cybersecurity often, as they are often a first-line vector that bad actors use to attack organizations.

Azure Implementation Pitfall #4: Underestimating Infrastructure Impact

Even if a deployment seems fairly basic, the infrastructure changes can bring about serious challenges to your IT staff. The infrastructure changes can represent a larger change in the existing on-premise environment. If your IT team members are not familiar with managing cloud-based services, it may be wise to invest in training. 

Azure Implementation Pitfall #5: Subscription Services 

Before your implementation, it is important to note that it is a subscription-based model. Your organization will be billed monthly for services used rather than a perpetual license.  It is important to plan for the renewals in advance to avoid unnecessary outages.

Azure Implementation Pitfall #6: Intune Indifference  

If your organization manages a host of mobile devices then leveraging Intune mobile device management should be a no-brainer. This service is a must-have for replacing on-premises Active Directory management Group Policy Objects. This helps ensure consistency of device policies across your entire team.

Azure Implementation Pitfall #7:  Not Leveraging a Trusted Partner 

Your internal IT team may be fairly skilled at deploying new services and software, for Azure implementation you should consult a trusted partner. Consulting a partner who specializes in Azure can help you understand the capabilities and be your guide throughout the entire process. 

Azure Implementation Pitfall #8:  Forgetting Continuous Training

Microsoft is continuously expanding and improving its Azure offerings, therefore it is extremely important to ensure IT staff and end users are training and learning about new expansions. 

Avoid These Pitfalls with Afidence’s IT Staff Augmentation

Azure implementation can be a huge undertaking for any organization with or without an internal IT team. By augmenting your staff with Afidence, you can leverage our IT experts to handle any IT or cybersecurity project from start to finish. Book a meeting with us today to get started.