{"id":4798,"date":"2021-11-03T08:47:31","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T13:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/?p=4798"},"modified":"2021-11-03T08:47:31","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T13:47:31","slug":"why-you-shouldnt-trust-up-front-pricing-for-cloud-migration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stratospherenetworks.com\/blog\/why-you-shouldnt-trust-up-front-pricing-for-cloud-migration\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Shouldn\u2019t Trust Up-Front Pricing for Cloud Migration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AWhen you grab a gallon of milk at the grocery store, the price is obvious, and you pay the same as everyone else who picks up that particular product.<\/p>\n

However, more complex solutions and services don\u2019t work that way. If you take your car to the shop because it\u2019s making a mysterious sound, you can\u2019t expect the mechanic to tell you how much you\u2019re going to owe without investigating the issue first. The cost depends on the specific situation. You and other customers will also owe varying amounts since you drive different cars with unique parts and problems.<\/p>\n

Working with a managed service provider (MSP) to carry out cloud migration<\/a> is more like taking your car to the mechanic than buying milk. Because each business has individual needs, goals and pain points, we can\u2019t tell you exactly how much moving to the cloud will cost you without conducting an assessment first. Other providers will gladly name a number without evaluating your IT environment, but the deals they offer aren\u2019t as great as they seem.<\/p>\n

The True Cost of One-Size-Fits-All Pricing for Cloud Migration<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re shopping around for an MSP to migrate your phone system, servers, or other aspects of your infrastructure to the cloud<\/a>, you might be hesitant to partner with a provider that can\u2019t tell you the price of the project right away. For instance, a potential client decided not to work with us because they didn\u2019t want to undergo an assessment to determine how much it would cost to move their server environment.<\/p>\n

Some providers will offer pricing without considering the details of your situation first, and you might be tempted to sign a contract with one of those MSPs. However, the odds are good that you\u2019ll regret giving in to the allure of those one-size-fits-all deals.<\/p>\n

Businesses that work with those types of IT providers often end up on our doorstep asking us to clean up the mess after the other MSP delivered an incomplete, slipshod solution. Just like your car, your IT isn\u2019t something you want to cheap out on since you\u2019ll likely find yourself dealing with a disaster down the road.<\/p>\n

For example, one of our clients came to us after their previous provider mis-designed their whole network. Their application performance was abysmal, and they struggled with frequent outages. They\u2019re not the only company that\u2019s turned to us due to that sort of snafu.<\/p>\n

In 2020, 40 percent of enterprise organizations reported that the cost of just one hour of downtime ranged from $1 million to more than $5 million, according to Information Technology Intelligence Consulting\u2019s 11th<\/sup> annual Hourly Cost of Downtime Survey<\/a>. Attractive initial prices can ultimately end up offset by outages and lost productivity if the product isn\u2019t reliable.<\/p>\n

Cybersecurity<\/a> is another major factor to consider. If your MSP doesn\u2019t set up your cloud solution correctly, you might end up dealing with an expensive and reputation-wrecking data breach. Cloud misconfigurations \u2013 which occur when whoever sets the product up doesn\u2019t select the proper settings \u2013 are common and costly. In 2018 and 2019 combined, data breaches caused by misconfigurations cost companies worldwide a total of nearly $5 trillion, according to the 2020 Cloud Misconfigurations Report<\/a> from DivvyCloud.<\/p>\n

Given the potential price of getting it wrong, do you really want to select an MSP that throws out a price without first considering the complexities of your network and infrastructure?<\/p>\n

Why It\u2019s Worth It to Invest Without Knowing the Price Up Front<\/h2>\n

If you come to us seeking assistance with cloud migration, we won\u2019t be able to tell you how much it\u2019s going to cost you right away. However, we will be able to tell you that we\u2019ll deliver a comprehensive and high-quality solution that meets all your security, compliance<\/a> and performance needs.<\/p>\n

Our process involves conducting a network assessment\/consulting engagement first. After that, we\u2019ll onboard you as a managed IT client, and our consultants will spend a few months mapping out the migration process and designing your solution based on factors like these:<\/p>\n