Partly Sunny or Partly Cloudy?

When the Cloud Disappoints

I’m trying to execute a cloud-first strategy. Moving to Microsoft’s Exchange Online seemed like an obvious and relatively safe choice for migrating a major production application (email) to the cloud. Well, it didn’t turn out that way, and I feel like we averted a significant issue. We have now “de-clouded” our email.

Why? Come to find out, currently Microsoft only has a service level based on WEB ONLY ACCESS to the Exchange on-line platform. Those who need to use Outlook (via Outlook Anywhere) or Mobile/Tablet access (via ActiveSync) don’t have any service level guarantees. We experienced significant outages and the error messages created confusion – even among the I.T. team. Therefore, we have chosen to not proceed.

This feels very strange and awkward. How can this be? What could we have done differently? How are others not feeling the same pain? Have we done something incorrectly? Many questions remain unanswered despite our discussions with Microsoft. I’m guessing this won’t be our last “partly cloudy” experience either. All the while I remain committed to the direction and making good choices and learning. We’ll continue on the journey and work our way towards “partly sunny.”

Photo by Mark Baker