How to Select a Cloud Provider
You are an expert at what you do. That's why your customers come to you. You, in turn, depend upon others who are experts at what they do to support you. That's one of the reasons so many companies prefer to turn to cloud computing to provide for their information management requirements; the ability to depend upon experts instead of hiring and hoping for the best.
So how do you select the right cloud services provider? For most companies, there are really two decisions to be made.
First Decision - Who Will Be Our Guide
The movement to cloud computing is in full swing with all the trappings of your usual gold rush. There are so many different "cloud" services from so many different providers competing for attention that it becomes very difficult to know which to pay attention to or how to go about deciding how to use them.
Fortunately, many of the network and system integrators that have been in the IT industry for many years have been carefully doing their homework tracking the emergence of these vendors. These proven experts are now prepared to integrate cloud services most effectively for clients. Your first decision will be which of these integrators to engage as your trusted guide to the clouds. Here are some key characteristics to focus on in your search:
Experience - Cloud computing benefits your company by providing services similar to those you formerly ran on your own in-house network, but doing so on a more cost-effective infrastructure. Prefer a partner who has long experience integrating technologies to create superior solutions that has now incorporated cloud computing into their practice.
Integrity - While this would seem to almost go without saying, it serves to remember that cloud computing is still a new resource and any provider who tells you they've been consulting on cloud services for years is exaggerating to say the least. Choose someone who will tell you openly and honestly when they're doing something that is relatively new for their practice, like transitioning from various questionable platforms or migrating unusual data assets.
Connections - With all of the claims being made by various providers, you want a partner who has strong connections inside the major providers' organizations who can navigate those companies most effectively to obtain accurate information, best pricing, and early advice about upcoming data center improvements.
Depth - Truly excellent systems design is dependent upon depth in two key disciplines; business operations and technology. Your best choice of guide to the best cloud-based solutions will have significant and demonstrable depth in both of these. Some of the largest consultancies have extraordinary depth in business operations, but lack extensive involvement with the technologies themselves. You cannot prescribe the best technology for a specific business function unless you truly understand all the available technologies, no matter what your pedigree may be.
You'll know you've made the right decision when you recognize your guide observing the following points when selecting actual cloud service providers for you.
Second Decision - What Cloud(s) Will We Choose
Already the press is overflowing with descriptions and acronyms for all sorts of services that get lumped under the category "cloud." The challenge is in the sheer volume of choices, and so is the advantage! At risk is your business, so make your choices carefully and rationally. Look for the following characteristics of dependable providers.
Reputation - At the dawn of the era of personal computing there were lots of odd names manufacturing computers and peripherals. Names like IMSAI, Altaire, Altos, Onyx, and Apple. Then in August 1981 the entire category was validated by a dependable well-known name - IBM. In today's cloud market you want to seek the well-known names you've come to trust. You may decide to transition elsewhere a few years down the road, but if you're betting your business information on it, assure your bet by going with a proven performer.
Applications - IBM may have validated the personal computer market, but the real launch of the personal computer revolution only came with the arrival of VisiCalc, the first application that the majority of users could really put to valuable use. Again, the same is true in the cloud. The best cloud providers will have excellent management software for their offerings, and excellent interfaces to allow your company to run the software your business depends upon.
Service - A cloud services provider who has built the necessary infrastructure will have no problem providing a guaranteed service level, and backing that with substantial penalties for underperformance. Service Level Agreements are the lifeblood of great IT operations.
Redundancy - The highest quality providers have multiple data centers in multiple geographies to assure continued performance even in case of nuclear holocaust. Sounds melodramatic, but ask anyone in a hurricane-prone area how important redundant data centers have been to them.
Security, Compliance, Identity Management and Access Control - The fact that a data center achieves regulatory compliance does not necessarily assure that it is secure. Look for clear demonstrations of multi-level authentication and authorization backed by solid firewall policies, extensive encryption, and other security provisions. Also be sure that your provider will be accessible through the firewalls and other security provisions present at the locations your people will be working from, including clients, suppliers, and other associates.
Remember that some requirements may be best served by combining multiple providers. One may be a superior provider of application hosting, while another excels at storage flexibility and scalability. Yet another may be a great objective third-party monitor for the first two. One of the great advantages of the cloud is the ability to obtain the most effective solutions from a variety of sources and blend them together into a comprehensive approach to lower-cost, higher-quality IT service. Choose the right guide, have them help you choose the right providers, and remember to revisit your strategy on a regular basis to make sure you're taking advantage of a rapidly changing and evolving environment.