Cloud computing services or cloud solution is a trend that businesses are taking up these days as technology has immensely changed how entrepreneurs do their business in the past years.
Even big traditional companies have shifted to a new way of conducting their business too. To keep up with the times and your competition, you need to avail yourself of the right cloud solution to meet your business needs and growth plans.
But selecting the right cloud solution for your business is no piece of cake. To help you out, consider the following tips:
1. Make Cloud Security Your Topmost Priority
It’s said that 94% of companies use cloud services because they know how vital it is to make their business operate seamlessly online. Although many people think that the digital world is scary since it’s where hackers are, you may want to reconsider it. If you find a cloud solution with the best security measures, your business online will be in good hands.
In choosing a cloud company, you need to know the security measures they’re currently employing. You need to know their mechanisms to preserve your data and applications. It’s also best to learn the specific areas for which you and the provider are responsible. You must also know what the provider offers for free and if you need to supplement with third-party’s technology.
You may have other concerns, such as regulatory requirements, use cases, and the like, so it’s best to ask potential cloud solution providers about these. Doing so will help you gauge if you can have the security your business needs.
2. Research Their Service Model
Every business has its own needs. A cloud solution provider may be the best but not suitable for your industry. Thus, you may consider researching whether their service capability or cloud models align with your requirements.
Typically, there are three types of cloud solutions: Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).
You may need a SaaS vendor if you want software that runs from the cloud. While it requires vendor support, it’s one of the cheapest ways to move your processes to the cloud.
Meanwhile, you’ll need IaaS to run servers from the cloud. This includes on-demand support services like personal digital servers, storage, and databases. You can choose this if you want to migrate to a dedicated cloud server from shared hosting resources.
Lastly, you may have to look for a provider that offers PaaS if you need a platform to test and program software. This cloud model doesn’t have control over its infrastructure since the cloud is centralized on a network.
3. Know Their Service Roadmap
Knowing how the provider plans to continue growing and innovating over time is also best. Check if their service roadmap will suit your needs in the long run by making them demonstrate similar deployments to your plans. They should also support interoperability and must have commitments to specific vendors or technologies.
The preferred technologies and platform of the provider must also support and align with your could objectives current environment. Ensure that their cloud standards and architectures suit your management and workload preferences. You may want to consider how much customization or re-coding you may have to do before your business operations fit their platforms. While you can do this independently, you can also allow the provider to assist you in the evaluation and planning stages.
Cloud computing services provider also offers comprehensive business cloud migration services, making it easier and cost-efficient since you no longer have to hire other professionals. Yet not all cloud solution providers offer such support.
You may have to look for other parties to assist you during the cloud migration process. If so, it may be best to ask the provider if they can recommend third-party support for such a role. They may have worked with reputable third-party support for their previous clients or dedicated third-party partners with extensive knowledge and experience to fill the skills gaps.
4. Compare Pricing Of Different Cloud Providers
Last but one of the most important aspects is their pricing. Choosing the provider that has the right plan is vital since cloud migration can be costly. You must first have a budget for this process before looking for providers. Use the specific amount your business will spend to compare cloud service provider pricing plans.
Conclusion
Selecting the right cloud solution won’t be hard if you know the factors when shopping for service providers. You may consider the tips above to save time and money finding the right provider. With the right cloud solution, you can operate your business online much more quickly.
