If you've heard anything about the cloud this year, it probably sounded something like this:

• "You should move to the cloud!"
• "You should move everything to the cloud!"
• "You aren't in the cloud yet? (gasp of horror)"
• "Oh, the cloud will fix that (insert any problem you can conceive of.)"

Disclaimer: This is NOT that seminar.

True, the cloud presents us with many capabilities we haven't had before. A good cloud-based solution can be a very effective Disaster Recovery strategy. The cloud can free you from the trap of having to make huge capital expenditures every few years as servers begin to fail. The cloud can even allow you complete administrative control over where your organization's data and applications are used, who can use them, and when.

Here's one piece you might not have heard of: the cloud is not for everything and everybody, at least not yet. The other thing you need to know, is that like any complex technology, moving to the cloud requires a well-executed plan and a solid foundation of support. If you aren't asking questions like these in your organization, there's a good chance you aren't ready to move to the cloud, even if it makes sense for you.

• How good is our connectivity? If we are asking people to access our applications through the Internet, do we have the bandwidth and the networking solutions to support that? Will they notice a difference in speed?
• What kind of data do we have? Do we have personal identifying information on our employees and our clients? What kind of security policies do we have in place to protect that data? What kind of security policies do our cloud providers have in place, and where is the liability in the event of a breach?
• What are our most critical applications and are they cloud-ready? Do we have home-grown or older applications that can't run in the cloud? Do people have the option and the capability to access those applications remotely? How do we handle applications that can't be run in the cloud?

In this seminar, ADNET Technologies, in partnership with Comcast Business Solutions, will talk about these and other factors you need to consider when starting to plan your cloud strategy. We'll give you the basic steps you need to inform your decisions of what, when and how your organization can move to the cloud. This will be a very interactive session, so bring your questions and concerns, and learn from an audience of others going through the same process you are.