As a term, “cloud” is thrown around so often that it attained buzzword status years ago. When a business concept or technology becomes buzzworthy, that’s when inaccuracies and myths start to develop. The cloud is no exception to this trend. These days, tech companies both large and small will default to the term “cloud” if they’re looking to make a lofty product pitch.

Somewhere down the line, “cloud” became industry jargon for “the future.” Yet in reality, cloud computing just refers to the process of remotely accessing resources, often by using Internet-based apps. The lack of alignment between the cloud’s true meaning and its use as an industry buzz term has given rise to certain myths about virtualization – and it’s time to set the record straight.

Myth 1: For businesses, the cloud is about making a 100 percent transition from legacy to virtual. 
Wrong because: Some tech outlets – and many businesses – would have you believe that a move to the cloud should be a complete network overhaul. Abandon your legacy systems immediately and embrace the future. But this is the kind of false advice that will lead companies to problematic deployments. For businesses, a cloud move should be a measured process that seeks not to immediately eliminate legacy solutions, but instead to integrate them with virtualized applications. And as research firm Gartner has pointed out, there are certain business legacy applications that are best maintained in their original form. By pursuing cloud advisory services, businesses headed to the cloud can get a sense of what their particular deployment strategy should look like.

Myth 2: There’s one cloud – and you’re either in it or you’re not.
Wrong because: “Cloud” isn’t a single platform. Instead, it refers to the process of storing and accessing remotely-hosted resources like business data over the Internet, which can take many different forms. Far from just being one cloud type, there are many different options for interested enterprises, including public, private and hybrid platforms. There’s also infrastructure-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service and software-as-a-service. Many businesses these days find that their cloud strategy encompasses a variety of different cloud services, which together constitute an individualized and effective virtual solution.

Myth 3: Cloud migrations can only happen at businesses where there’s significant internal cloud expertise.
Wrong because: Cloud solutions are open to all organizations, regardless of the level of internal virtual experience that’s present. While it’s true that an effective cloud move can only happen when a company is adequately prepared, attaining that preparedness doesn’t mean a company has to have a fleet of cloud experts on its payroll. That’s where cloud services come into play. By pairing with a cloud partner, a business that’s interested in a migration can ease its transition and ensure that the​ process happens in the most streamlined way possible. There are different kinds of cloud assistance companies can receive. When a business headed to the cloud pursues advisory services, for instance, it sets itself up to receive the kind of consultancy solutions that will help it get ready – and educated – for the cloud. For companies looking to reduce the internal organizational functions involved in a cloud move, there are application managed services, which can help with the implementation, maintenance and administration of cloud solutions.

By surmounting popular cloud myths, businesses can ensure that they’re as well-informed as possible as they pursue a transition to the cloud.