Moving unified communications (UC) systems to the cloud can be a daunting task. If the migration is not planned carefully, this can lead to disastrous consequences for your business. Otherwise, it offers many significant benefits, including augmented security and scalability.

The cloud is undoubtedly one of the most talked-about technologies today and for good reason. Migrating your business’s critical functions, such as your unified communications (UC) systems, to the cloud can improve your company’s agility, efficiency, security, and resiliency.

Moving your business’s resources to the cloud is quickly becoming the mainstream formula for success. But this comes with certain risks and requires careful planning. Your organization’s unified communications system (UC) is no exception and can be more challenging than moving other functions.

More and more small and medium-sized businesses are making the switch from on-premises systems to cloud-hosted Office 365. If you’re one of them, you need to ensure a smooth and secure transition. Here’s what you need to do.

Identify your company’s sensitive data…
Most files housed within your servers contain sensitive commercial and personal data that must be properly identified and protected.

The number of small businesses that will move their unified communications to the cloud is predicted to increase from 10% to 48%, while medium-sized firms and large enterprises follow, albeit in smaller percentages. These numbers are not surprising because migrating unified communications to the cloud presents a host of benefits to communication systems: simplicity, flexibility, and lowered costs.

The decision to migrate from an on-site SharePoint system to a cloud-based Office 365 solution isn’t one that most small or medium-sized businesses take lightly. In fact, though the popularity of Office 365 and other cloud-hosted platforms continues to soar, plenty of companies still have legacy SharePoint systems in place for at least part of their operations.