How to Select the Right Cloud Service Provider for Your Business?

Most of us are aware of the fact that there is a huge a plethora of cloud service providers currently operating in the market. These providers range from big market giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Google to smaller niche players offering bespoke services. However, the availability of such numerous providers also signifies that selecting the right type of cloud service provider who can comprehend your business according to the business framework can be a challenging task.

That is why, it becomes critical for the business owners to first, understand what their accurate requisites are, and then do the investigation and figure out which cloud service provider suits your business requirements and can work best for your company. And while you’ll be conducting your study about determining and selecting the best cloud provider for your business, there are some specific criteria that you must focus on. 

Although, the evaluation criteria you use for selecting a provider depends upon your specific business requirements and can be unique in nature, but there are still some common areas that should be considered properly during any service provider assessment. Given below is a list of such four major factors which are essential for selecting a good cloud service provider:

1.      Experience and past performance records: To establish an idea about a cloud provider's credibility and track record, it is crucial to study about the past records of the provider and analyze how long they've been operating in the industry. This proves to be helpful in investigating what kind of cloud computing services the provider offers, what is the nature of its clients and what type of business relationships the provider has formed with its clients. Also, to further understand and recognize a provider's dependability and reputation, it is better to speak with some of its customers and partners and check out what their views are regarding the venture. This proves to be the best option in analyzing the trustworthiness of a service provider directly.

2.      Certifications & Standards: Another important factor to analyze properly about a cloud service provider is checking its certifications and standards. Nowadays, there are multiple standards and certifications available. However, it is always better to opt for providers that are accredited with recognized certificates like ISO 27001 and the government’s Cyber Essentials Scheme. This is important because the providers that comply with recognized standards and quality frameworks demonstrate an adherence to industry best practices and standards.

3.      Service Level Agreements: Support and service level agreements provided by the service provider are crucial to help your staff and systems against any downtime of the cloud. When considering the support service of a cloud provider, it is very important that you must make certain that the provider is ready to promise you a basic level of service and agrees upon working speedily if any downtime or problems arise and address the problems in the contracted manner and within the contracted durations. It is always better to opt for a cloud computing service provider that has specialized support and capability to handle issues as and when they will happen.

4.      Technical capabilities: This is another very important aspect to study about a cloud service provider. Before selecting any provider, it is crucial that you must make sure that the provider’s platform and preferred technologies can align with your current environment and support your cloud objectives. Analyze properly that whether the provider’s cloud architectures, standards and services are capable of suiting your workloads and management preferences. If not, assess how much re-coding or customization you may have to do to make your workloads suitable for their platforms. Nowadays, many cloud service providers in Australia offer comprehensive migration services and even offer assistance in the assessment and planning phases.