When a company is looking to upgrade their IT potential with cloud services, they’re usually concerned with whether they’re ready for it technologically. They often forget the human element, but that’s an essential part of the process.
Any software upgrade brings a certain period of transition and re-training, but this is crucial when dealing with a cloud migration. The entire cloud concept of doing business is new enough that some employees may not be familiar with it, and everyone will still need new training on security in a cloud environment.
Proper training, ultimately, can make or break a cloud migration.
Successful Training Cements A Successful Cloud Deployment
There are four broad areas a cloud training operation should focus on:
I – What is the cloud?
Even among workers who have been using Gmail accounts for years, there’s likely to be a lot of misunderstanding about what the cloud is and how it enables long-distance business functionality. Concepts like virtualization and distributed services should be discussed, so workers using the network have an idea how it works.
Cloud technologies are new enough, and different enough, that workers need a firm foundation in their basics to understand the changes ahead.
II – How does the new software operate?
This is the obvious part of the process: Whatever new software is installed will require some re-training, especially when security and log-in policies have changed. There are a number of options here, including:
- Live training sessions
- Training videos or documentation spread among the workers
- Online chat- or video-based webinars
- Self-guided online training materials with testing
III – What are their new privileges?
Most cloud roll-outs are going to bring direct benefits to the employees, more practical and everyday improvements like telecommuting or being able to use personal mobile devices at work.
Be sure to focus some time of the training on, basically, what the employees are getting out of this. They’ll be far more motivated to pay attention to training and maintain good morale during rollout hiccups if they know how they’re directly benefiting.
IV – What are their new responsibilities?
Beyond a simple security refresher, there should be real time spent on how cloud services put extra pressure on them to maintain a secure environment. In a Bring-Your-Own-Device environment, for example, any employee’s cell phone becomes a potential route into the network. Therefore, there are security burdens that may extend into their everyday life, such as requiring passwords on all devices used for work.
Simplify Your Training
Business Intelligence 101 can make employee training and cloud-security awareness easy. Our experienced professionals can create training materials for many different cloud deployments, as well as overseeing ongoing training side-by-side with rollout.
With Bi101 at your side, you can ensure that your human network is as robust and informed as your data network. The two, combined, create a strong cloud rollout that’s ready for future challenges.
To learn more, contact us today for a free consultation!
