For people whose job it is to work with business technology, this is likely what they would call “the times of the great migration.” The change being talked about is the switch from standard desktop business software to software that runs in the cloud or as a service. One of these options is project management software. This is one of the first types of software that businesses use because most of the time, even the smallest businesses work on projects.
Moving software from your computer to the cloud always comes with problems, and project management software is no different.
Getting the Employees to Accept
When business software changes, the biggest problem that needs to be solved is that employees almost always don’t like the new answer.
For the most part, they’ve been using the same desktop option for years and are comfortable with it. They may have even begun to see it as a friend instead of an enemy (or at least a problem). They think it’s a problem that you are suddenly pulling the rug out from under their feet. A very big problem. This is what they did. From their point of view, your choice to go cloud-based makes their job ten times harder, which is how they see it.
It’s impossible to avoid people not liking the new answer at first, but there are things you can do to help them get used to it faster. One thing you should always do is give them a list of ways the new answer is better than the old one. Say you switch from your old desktop project management to Basecamp or, even better, an alternative to Basecamp called Active Collab. You should let them know that they can now use extra features like combined budgeting, reporting, and invoicing without having to open another program.
Find a manager or even an employee who will support the idea of moving to a cloud-based option. This will speed up the process. This person could be someone who knows how to use the new tools or someone who is more open to new ideas.
Making sure security
When researchers look at the most common reasons why some businesses still don’t use cloud-based solutions, security is one of the ones that comes up most often. The RightScale State of the Cloud Report says that it is no longer the biggest problem. For years, it was the biggest problem. This is still the biggest problem for almost a third of businesses.
When a company starts using cloud-based systems, it makes sense that security worries would grow. One reason is that there are other people involved, and the more people there are, the less likely it is that their security is top-notch. Also, you can’t be sure who has access to your info 100% of the time.
Still, you can set rules that will make sure your sellers keep your data safe and use the newest security tools. Also, most data breaches are caused by mistakes made by people, so you won’t really be putting your security at risk that much.
Making changes to how things are done
When we talked about how people respond to it, we already touched on how a lot changes when a company switches from old desktop project management software to a cloud solution. But it’s much more than that. There are times when switching to cloud-based project management software can make you feel like you need to change the way you handle projects in general.
Because of this, a lot of people will find it hard to stop depending so much on emails, and teams may not get rid of them for a while. When they do, it’s really a relief. Cloud-based project management tools also usually mean that managers don’t have to worry as much about reporting and sticking to the plan. This can sometimes make things harder for workers and team members. Again, this turns out to be a good thing after a while. Using these new technologies will also usually need more regular input from team members, which some people will find annoying when they are trying to get work done.
These are big changes, and people may not be ready for them for a while.
When it comes to project management software, moving from PC to cloud-based can be a complicated and hard process with many problems along the way. But after some smart practice, keeping your cool, and the right amount of time, it will be clear that this new answer is much better.
