Companies are moving to the cloud to access cutting-edge technologies that are flexible, scalable, and cost-effective. However, as more businesses move their data and applications to the cloud, choosing the right provider has become even more important. Not all cloud providers are created equal. One may offer a wider variety of services and features, while another may have far more appealing pricing plans.
This makes determining which cloud computing provider is the best fit for your business a daunting task. That’s why we’ve compiled some questions you should ask yourself when evaluating cloud computing providers.
How secure is the cloud computing provider?
When evaluating cloud providers, security should be one of your top priorities. Since your data and applications will essentially be stored and accessed over the internet, you need to find a provider with robust security measures.
Your cloud provider’s infrastructure should be built like a fortress, with military-grade encryption, next-generation firewalls, advanced threat prevention, isolated virtual machines, and access controls. Their data centers should be in highly secure facilities that are monitored constantly and protected with biometric access controls and video surveillance. If you’re in an industry that has precise data management requirements, such as healthcare or finance, make sure that the provider is compliant with the applicable legal requirements such as HIPAA and PCI DSS.
Security is a shared responsibility between cloud provider and customer, so make sure you have some control over account access and data management. Your cloud service should have security features such as mulitfactor authentication, role-based access control, and data audit logging.
Is the provider reliable?
If you’re moving critical data and applications to the cloud, you need a platform that’s constantly accessible and available. It’s therefore important to look for a provider that guarantees high uptime and performance in their service level agreements (SLAs). Look for a provider with a fully redundant architecture that consists of multiple data centers located in different regions, a distributed system of servers, and regular data backups. This way, if one location goes down, your data and applications will still be available on another server, minimizing the risk of downtime.
What’s more, your provider should be willing to disclose any outages or performance issues that occurred in the past. This will allow you to gauge service reliability and whether these incidents have been handled properly. If that information isn’t available, read customer reviews and look for references to get a sense of the provider’s reliability and quality of service.
What type of support does the provider offer?
Cloud computing services are complex, so it’s only natural for you to want to partner with a cloud provider that can handle this complexity and offers comprehensive and attentive support. Review each provider’s SLA to see what type of support is available, and their estimated response and resolution times. At the very least, they should have 24/7 live chat, email, and phone support to ensure that any issues you encounter can be resolved quickly and efficiently.
What’s more, it’s worth checking the scope of a provider’s support services to confirm what they can help with. Do they provide technical guidance with deployments, migrations, integrations, and cloud optimization? Do they have in-house engineers who can assist you with troubleshooting? Are there knowledge bases, online tutorials, or other resources that you can use to troubleshoot problems yourself? If the provider does not meet your needs in this regard, consider vetting another provider.
Does the cloud computing contract lock you in?
A potential risk with cloud services is vendor lock-in, which occurs when you are unable to switch to another vendor without incurring substantial costs or issues. If you’re locked into a long-term contract, this means that you’ll be stuck with the same provider for years, even if their service quality or pricing changes.
To protect your business from vendor lock-in, pay close attention to the terms of agreement and make sure you can terminate your contract at any time. Look for providers that offer open standards as well as support for common development frameworks, as these ensure compatibility and interoperability with other services and platforms. Also, the service must have intuitive migration tools in place to help you easily transfer data and applications to other providers if needed.
Can the cloud service scale with your operations?
Your computing, storage, software, and support needs can change if your operation grows or downsizes. In some months, you may need to accommodate a huge spike in new users, while in others, you may need to decrease your infrastructure’s capacity. To handle such sudden fluctuations, your cloud provider should be able to quickly and easily provision more resources or scale back if necessary.
Ask potential cloud providers whether they’re capable of handling large workloads and surges in server demands. If they only have experience with small operations, they’re probably not the right fit for your growing business. Also, make sure your provider offers flexible contracts and billing that can be adjusted as your needs change. That way, you won’t pay for more than what you actually need, nor will you get stuck with an expensive long-term contract if your usage suddenly drops.
What is the cloud provider’s pricing?
The cost and pricing models of cloud services can vary greatly depending on the provider. Some providers offer per-user pricing, where you pay for each user that accesses the system. Others offer usage- or resource-based pricing, where you’re charged based on how much storage, processing power, and bandwidth you use. There are also cloud services with tiered pricing structures, where higher-end packages come with more features and better performance.
Whatever service you’re looking for, make sure you understand the provider’s pricing and billing structure before committing to anything. Inquire about any extra fees for setup, maintenance, or additional services, and ask the provider about the consistency of their prices. Will they increase or decrease in line with market changes? Are any discounts available if you commit to a long-term contract? Finally, compare the pricing of different providers to find the most cost-effective option. The right provider for your business should be one that charges competitive prices that fit your budget while addressing your cloud computing needs.
Choosing a cloud provider is a big decision that can have a huge impact on your company’s growth. At Dynamics Solutions Group, we provide a robust collection of cloud services to meet your various business needs. We also have cloud experts on hand to help you assess the best option that meets your requirements and budget. Contact us today to get started!
