Many cloud projects start simply enough: A client calls their channel partner saying, “I want to go to the cloud.” But since not every system or application is appropriate for the cloud, how should you help clients determine what should — and shouldn’t — go?

Typically, some education needs to be done. The client must understand that while some things work great in the cloud, others wouldn’t. One powerful way to begin is by looking at the client’s business. After all, moving to the cloud should be mainly a business decision, not a technological one. If you focus on your clients’ IT needs, they can focus on their core business.

Unfortunately, many clients think they can move to the cloud and just take everything. The reality is different, according to Richard Cummins, head of channel partner ISOCNET. His clients’ businesses typically have three pieces. There’s one piece that should stay on premises. A second piece that can be co-located in a data center. And a third piece that can definitely go to the cloud. The result? A customized, hybrid cloud solution.

In trying to educate a cloud beginner, Cummins adds, you may suggest that the first thing they take to the cloud is Office 365. He explains: “We’ll tell them, ‘Let’s take your email and collaboration tools, and get you used to the cloud first.’”

It’s also a question of benefits — which many clients don’t really understand, either. So that’s another educational process. A client may believe that by moving to the cloud, someone else will take care of all their IT needs. They view the cloud as a kind of IT hand-off. Let someone else take care of their IT needs, so they can run their core business. Of course, the cloud can do that, but not for every application.

One way to determine the best solution is to simply ask a client, “Why do you want to go to the cloud?” The answers can be surprising. Sometimes, Cummins says, he hears, “Because everybody is doing it” — as if that were the basis for a good IT strategy! Other times he’s told, “Because my IT equipment is outdated. I’d rather move to the cloud than spend the money on an upgrade.”

Either way, this is a golden opportunity to sit down with the client and talk it through. The process of selling the cloud can be thought of as a three-part process. First, understand the client’s business needs. Second, educate them on what the cloud can and can’t do. And third, formulate the best possible solution. That’s a successful move to the cloud.