Selecting the cloud service provider is a complex task since there are various options that are available, and analyzing all of them is not feasible. But, choosing the right provider to create cloud storage for your business is essential for long-term success. But, you need to have a clear strategy to effectively meet your expectations and make sure of a successful migration to the cloud.
In order to make the process easier, we have created an instant guide for cloud adoption. Therefore, let us go through the primary features that should be taken into consideration while preparing the checklist to select a cloud provider!
24/7/365 Support
What are the IT skills you have in-house? Do you need round-the-clock support? Is the provider including round-the-clock monitoring? Did you get quick and direct support? Will you need to go through the chat or a call center to get Support?
The level of Support will differ considerably among the cloud providers. There are a few IaaS providers giving out free, direct access to specialized Support and acting proactively in times of incidents, while the others are offering more reactive Support through the call center or simply through email. Therefore the addition of technical Support will need the checklist, which is the primary key to avoiding any kind of surprises.
Deployment and Migration
Are the migration tests conducted by your provider? Does the project need a hot migration? What are the migration services included?
The requirements for deployment and migration needs depend mainly on the IT skills that you have internally as for the technical Support. Therefore, counting on the cloud provider/IaaS to support you through the migration and deployment process is beneficial in several cases. It is not always the case, although the service providers are often offering migration services and helping the customers in this process.
Performance and Reliability
What kind of applications and data are you migrating to the cloud? What is the level of performance you are expecting out of your service provider? Are there all applications that require higher performances?
You will have to define the level of performance for your applications that have to avoid overprovisioning. There are mission-critical applications that demand higher levels of performance and less latency. The analysis will help you in finding the balance between budget and performance.
However, always keep in mind the different cloud deployment models as you compare your specific needs while offering the different cloud providers. These are all exclusive use by your company since you will not get similar performance and control over the shared cloud platform as the dedicated cloud through computing resources.
Availability and HA
Which is the uptime where you are expecting out of the services? Do all your applications needs higher availability?
Always make sure that locating your data within an off-premise data center will not affect the availability or create bandwidth or latency issues affecting the performance environment. The leading cloud service providers guarantee about 99.9% of the availability of SLA. Therefore, availability should not be an issue when you opt for quality cloud service.
Budget
A few of the primary benefits of migrating to the cloud environment are cost visibility and flexibility. But, performance and security should never be compromised. However, it is vital to have the features and costs compared to locate the proper balance for your business. For example, costs are generally predictable in Private Cloud environments, while in Public Cloud, they can easily become uncontrolled.
We would recommend you carefully assess the services included under the pricing and the services and features available at additional costs in order to avoid unexpected expenses. When you are planning to create cloud storage, also check whether the provider is offering simple costs and billing that are predictable or not. A simple billing system can help in keeping the expenses under control.
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