Cloud migration is happening at a scorching rate. Service providers are providing more and more mature cloud applications in quick succession. It is imperative that you carefully examine the level of application maturity before choosing it. It is indisputable that there is occurring a widespread transition from conventional on premise applications to cloud based services. As more and more firms realize the value of cloud’s agility, scalability and good return on investment, there has been a corresponding rise in the adoption of cloud based services. There are many factors to consider such as the functional difference between mature business applications and SaaS applications which are going through the maturing phase.

Cloud maturity varies with business area

While contemplating migrating to the cloud some may assume that everything which is currently sourced internally can be met by the cloud service providers. The fact is the maturing of cloud based solution differs substantially depending upon the business area. For instance, the leading cloud based applications have the same quality as traditional applications in the areas of sales, marketing and human resources. However, in the areas of inventory and supply chain management, cloud solutions are comparatively immature.

A hybrid model may work

It may be wise to consider deploying available SaaS services with conventional on-premise applications in a hybrid model to meet the existing business requirements. However, this is not so simple and straight forward as it may seem. Arriving at the right mix of internal applications and cloud services needs a lot of planning and analysis. It is important that the decision makers brainstorm to identify and prioritize business requirements and determine which applications are mature and capable enough to implement the business requirements.

Important application features constituting maturity of cloud services

• APIs which help connectivity and integration- The use of APIs help connect an application to the cloud as well as the conventional IT infrastructure. However, the APIs may not work with all systems. Finding out the actual maturity of the APIs would require a careful assessment.
• The comprehensiveness of the functionality- Many vendors provides solutions which meet only a single business requirement. There may be solutions in the market which have existing functionality designed to meet several business requirements as well as help companies make greater profits on their investment on cloud services. It is a smart move to source multiple services from a single vendor. This is because more money is saved and the number of integration challenges is minimal.
• Cutting edge security standards- It is true, there is some risk in having sensitive data in the cloud. However, the cloud vendors implement the best security standards such as authentication and authorization procedures, specific policies and response to data breach and up to date security certification. Encryption gateway services may also be deployed to bolster data security.

The process of maturing of cloud services will eventually result in near perfect solutions. However, this may take time. In the meantime, some arrangement may have to be made to balance high performance with the decision to adopt the cloud.