Though cloud computing has already got quite deep into our life there are still some companies that have implemented neither Google Apps, nor Office 365, nor any other cloud technologies due to the conservative view of their employees who are used to the desktop applications. So what should an IT manager do to implement cloud technologies into people’s minds to make them more eager for innovations and deploy Office 365 or other cloud technologies? See some hints below.
Make people excited
If people see how the new technology is going to help them they will be more motivated to learn it.
You want your workers to be excited about the chance to improve their daily work. The users’ main purpose is to get their jobs done, and they will be excited if they see that the tool will make their lives easier. Show them the benefits they will get with cloud computing versus desktop applications.
Use different benefits for different groups. For example for accounting team you can show how to improve the process of collecting financial data and create monthly reports. For project managers you can show the new cloud project scheduling tools and task updates.
Keep them involved
You should discuss your plan with the users, and allow them to participate and become personally involved in improving the solution. You should start with a small group of the most interested people. This will help you to easily gather feedback and improve either the solution or the way you communicate.
Let this little group of people spread the word across the whole team.
Bring people together
Learning a new technology can also become a good reason for additional team-building. Spend about 30 minutes a day to get people together in one room discussing the new features of cloud computing technologies, let them share their thoughts and fears with the others.
Make sure that the early cloud adopters participate in these lessons to increase the excitement.
Teach them the safety lessons
Do not forget that the main threat to your data in the cloud is the human factor. When you deploy Office 365 remind your team at each meeting to never share their private data with the outsiders. Implement third-party solutions for backing up your Office 365 data.
Implementing new technologies can be painful for those who are not ready to move on. And you as an IT manager can help people improve their work.