The Cloud offers many benefits to small businesses. It’s an affordable, secure, and reliable platform to host applications and store critical data. It also allows you the flexibility to easily scale your IT infrastructure. There are, however, good and bad, cloud hosting providers, and some don’t offer the best service. But you may ask, “How do I choose a Cloud Service Provider that I can really depend on?” It’s not always easy to tell if you’re not an expert in the industry. So, we’re giving you some help with 21 questions you should ask any Cloud provider…
Key Questions to Ask Your Cloud Provider
If you’re ready to embrace the Cloud and all it has to offer, you need to fully understand what to expect from your cloud provider.
This is why we take you through the key questions that will help you make an informed decision before you entrust someone with your business’ infrastructure.
Do They Have the Technical Capabilities and Expertise?
It’s vital to know the level of support you can expect from a Cloud or Managed IT Provider, especially if you don’t have a dedicated staff member to manage, monitor, and deploy your Cloud infrastructure. Some providers only provision the service, they don’t help you when you need support or troubleshooting.
If you would rather focus your time and attention on higher value projects, but you want your Cloud service to run smoothly, you need to assess whether your Cloud provider has the technical know-how to properly manage and maintain your Cloud-based systems.
Key questions to ask:
- Do they hold the necessary industry certifications for data center management & security?
- Do they have the business and technical knowledge to properly understand your needs?
- Do they have the ability to track and monitor your services and any changes to your systems?
- Do they use standard APIs and data transforms to seamlessly build connections to the Cloud?
- Do they offer hybrid capability in case you wish to leverage the strengths of both Legacy and Cloud infrastructure?
Are They Reliable and Open About Their Performance?
Even with the best providers, there can be unexpected downtime. The important thing is that your provider remains open and honest about their performance as a company.
To assess a provider’s reliability, see if they openly list their service KPIs on their websites and brochures. Look carefully at the provider’s service level agreement (SLA), which is often a great way to measure a company’s confidence in their ability to deliver.
Key questions to ask:
- As a company, do they have the financial stability to reliably operate over the long term?
- What is their level of Cloud experience? Are there reviews you can consult or client testimonials for businesses similar to yours?
- Are they open about reporting downtime, its frequency, and how quickly they resolve it?
- As part of your service, will you receive regularperformance reports?
- How do they manage ‘events”? Do they offer a formal process that integrates into their monitoring/management system?
Do They Take Cybersecurity Seriously?
Security should never be taken lightly, especially when your critical systems will depend on the safety and functionality of the Cloud. The good news is that Cloud hosting technology has now matured to the point that 64% of enterprises consider it more secure than storing data in-house.
However, some Cloud providers leave security up to you and only provide basic infrastructure. It’s important to know what level of security you can expect and the various server-level, network and physical measures that will be put in place to protect your data.
Key questions to ask:
- Do they encrypt all data sent over the Cloud network or the internet?
- Is there a comprehensive security infrastructurefor all levels and types of Cloud services?
- Do they employ security measures and policies that control user access to both customer and provider systems?
- Do they have plans for ensuring business continuity in case of disaster, such as data backups and network redundancies?
- What is their data center like? Where is it located? Is it secure and physically protected from disruptive events, such as power outages?
- Do they insist on using multi-factor authentication and controlled access for any changes to an application or data?
Are they Transparent About Their Processes?
Knowing how an organization works internally is a great way to answer the question of: How do I choose a Cloud Service Provider?
Internal processes will often show how they tackle challenges, work with clients, and the level of care they put into their service delivery and customer experience.
By familiarizing yourself with a provider’s internal processes, you can assess whether a successful business relationship is possible.
Key questions to ask:
- Are they well-organized as a company? Do they have a formal management structure, a way of managing risk, and a process for assessing third-party providers and vendors?
- Are their Service Level Agreements (SLAs) easy to understand and do they clearly define services and expectations?
- Is their billing straightforward and transparent, with no unexpected costs or surprises?
- Is there a formal documented process for requesting and accepting service changes?
- How do they handle service delivery? Will it be easy to deploy, manage, or upgrade your software and applications?
So, In the End, How Do I Choose a Cloud Service Provider?
Once you ask these key questions, you will have a better idea whether a Cloud Service Provider is right for you. Remember, this is a very crucial relationship, as you will be entrusting your IT infrastructure, or at least key components, to an outside party. Before you sign a contract, make sure you ask all the right questions, and your Cloud experience will be sunny instead of stormy.
Need a reliable Cloud solution that won’t confuse you? We can answer all your Cloud questions, and we’d love to! Give us a call at 604-574-8623 or fill out our contact form.