The final decision has been made. Papers are signed. You’re transitioning to cloud, but how does it work exactly, and how can you do this in a secure manner? We’ll go through the process in this blog post.

As we discussed in the last blog post, many worry about the concept of moving to cloud and are not completely sure about what the different steps entail. The two biggest reasons to why people mistrust cloud is that they do not think it is safe enough and they do not think that cloud can help them to be compliant with necessary regulations. In financial services, this worry is of course highlighted since the stored data is so sensitive and needs to be protected properly. According to a survey from Radar Group*, there are also three big barriers that is keeping customers from adopting cloud: internal resource/skill gaps in transition/transformation (23%), difficulties in integrating services with existing IT environment (24%), and internal resource/skill gaps in defining needed services/procurement (26%).

A dedicated Security Partner

Although the customer benefits with cloud are many, you probably have a lot of questions at this point. What is the next step, how can we make strategic decisions for the future? You need a sounding board in security issues, someone who can provide you with information and advice, but also help you create a roadmap for your organisation. Having a single point of contact provides you with a partner who is dedicated to you and your organisation’s IT security. Together you come up with short and long term plans, making sure that your business is secure, now and in the future.

Tieto Compliance Cloud (TiCC) is an industry-specific solution for financial services; a platform that helps you comply with regulatory demands, without having to host your own servers – or lower your level of security. Our cloud services follow your IT rules; your network, firewalls and security.

Safe and secure transition

The actual transitioning usually consists of dividing the IT environment into appropriate systems groups (or Move Groups) which all contain servers, applications and associated data. These groups are then moved in batches, making sure that the transit process is safe and secure. Throughout the process, quality checks, such as risk analysis, should be carried out and monitored closely until the project is completed.

The transition process should be well-documented, where you enjoy full transparency throughout the process. Make sure you utilize your Security Partner; prepare carefully for the transition and create a roadmap with all the different steps and who is responsible for what during implementation. Make sure you continually receive information on how it all progresses. After the project has been completed, you should be able to go through your roadmap and tick off all the steps to confirm that you have successfully transitioned to cloud in a safe and controlled manner.

In the first blog post in the series, we talked about the challenges that are facing the financial services, and why moving to cloud is inevitable. We have also looked at some of the key benefits with cloud, and the process itself. The next step is to dive into the world of compliance; regulations are continuously updated, but with cloud, compliance is easy. Keep your eyes peeled for our next blog post on compliance.

Want to know more about our cloud solutions for financial services? Download more information about what TiCC can do for you, how the transitioning process works and why you’ll benefit from a dedicated security partner here.

*Radar Group. Pan-Nordic research 2015 (Sweden, Finland and Norway). With 277 IT decision makers across industries participating.

This article originally appeared on perspectives.tieto.com