It’s official – the cloud is the future of business. As one of the fastest growing areas of business technology, cloud service providers have dramatically changed how businesses operate. From offering alternative storage solutions, to providing disaster backup and building applications, the potential is practically limitless.
However, the cloud is not a one-size-fits all solution. This means its benefits can vary depending on the services you employ. But with the range of cloud facilities now available on demand, the main advantage is increased cost efficiency. So, regardless of the type of services you take on, your business will have total control of scalability, new technologies and accessibility.
Inevitably, ever since the technology was launched, the market has been inundated with providers claiming to offer the best cloud service. And, as such, this plethora of choice has made it difficult for businesses to differentiate one cloud service provider from another.
So, in this article we guide you through the start of your cloud search, giving insight into the key factors your business should be scanning for when choosing a cloud service provider. In putting together this checklist we hope to drive your business to make a confident and informed decision.
Things to note before searching for a cloud service provider
Refine your objectives
Before starting any rigorous research, it is absolutely crucial to refine your business objectives. Perhaps your business is expanding its work-from-home teams, therefore you may be looking to enhance the use of remote collaboration tools. With an increase in remotely accessed data, then comes a need for vast cloud storage options too.
Consider future growth
Whatever the first objective is, your business must consider what else will follow. For example, maybe your business is projecting rapid growth and needs a cloud service provider offering easily scalable services. This should be a key element of your search, as your business’ requirements may suddenly soar, and a capable provider can maintain consistent performance. A cloud service provider lacking the resources to support your business in growth can be detrimental, causing downtime and slowing core operations.
These are just a couple initial tips to get you started proving why seeking the right cloud service provider can be essential to meeting your business needs.
But, how do you know who to trust? Well, simply refer to the checklist below.
Key considerations when choosing a cloud service provider
Security
Security is the first consideration to be made. According to a recent study, the average cost of a data breach in the UK is $4.21 million. That kind of money isn’t something to be taken lightly. So, it’s extremely important that your cloud service provider offers top-notch security solutions.
Remember you’ll be storing vast amounts of data through your cloud service provider. This means they must be serious about their security setup as all your sensitive information will be in their hands. Much of this data will also belong to clients and customers, meaning you’re putting them at risk as well.
The bottom-line is don’t compromise on security.
So, take a note of any security vulnerabilities or concerns you may have, as your cloud service provider will work to strengthen these. Consider automated processes available for data backup, to ensure that disaster recovery processes aren’t slowed in times of crisis. And finally, decide on the key security requirements for your business. For the financial industry, this may be fraud prevention and encryption to safeguard and protect client assets. If your business is at high risk of ransomware, phishing and other malware, look for advanced threat detection tools and continuous monitoring.
When approaching prospective cloud service providers, hypothesize specific use case scenarios and test their knowledge. Are they able to give you an answer or solution?
Compliance
Robust security is important, but cloud service providers must also ensure they are compliant with national and industry regulations. Holding any kind of customer data means your business is automatically liable as identities are at risk. Additionally, your business can be in violation of the law for failing to use a compliant service. Therefore, seeking a compliant cloud service provider is not a step to skim over.
With GDPR currently at play, it is imperative that organisations comply with the latest security and privacy regulations. Failure to do so will result in more than just huge financial losses, which can be up to €20 million or 4% of your annual turnover. You could be looking at the possibility of your organisation being told to shut down permanently.
So, make sure you not only talk to your potential cloud service provider about compliance, but do your own external research about their company. Reputable providers will hold internationally recognised certifications to prove their legitimacy and trustworthiness. For example, the ISO27001 certification upholds the information security standard. This confirms your provider’s reliability in following the associated processes to minimise the risk of data handling.
File versioning
Collaboration and real-time syncing are some of the basic features typically offered by cloud services. But in reality, many cloud service providers fail to provide these key functions as part of the service.
File versioning is one such feature to look out for. This tool allows you to view and track the editing history of files uploaded to the cloud. Therefore, the most significant use is the ability to access old versions of a file. For instance, let’s say you have a file on the cloud and one of your team members decides to update it. For future reference, it would then be useful to know what existed before the changes were made. In other words, you need multiple versions of the same file corresponding to each update.
In the event of a crisis, file versioning can play a crucial role in restoring important data. For example, if a cyberattack infected your file, you could remain confident that uninfected previous versions are accessible in the cloud. So, whether it’s accidental deletion, or a fire destroying your physical server, cloud file versioning can retain all previous file edits.
Alongside, your business’ access, file versioning also ensures a trail for auditing and compliance purposes. This means you can rest assured knowing record keeping is secure and in line with regulations. Additionally, if any concerns about access controls arise, updates can be traced back to a user.
These are just a few reasons why you should check for file versioning with your cloud service provider. And although some packages may offer this, they’ll have a time limit on how long they store each revision.
Continued support
Finally, find out if your cloud service provider is willing to provide continued support. Around the clock support is essential when relying on cloud services to store and manage large sets of data. More importantly, support should be easily accessible and involve human expertise to respond and resolve accordingly.
All cloud services will offer a helpdesk or customer service system; however, some prove better than others. If your prospective provider chooses to go the phone-menu/automated-voice way, it’s better to avoid them and find someone else. In cases of emergency, time is of the essence and unfortunately AI-based customer support systems haven’t evolved enough to provide rapid response. Many businesses will also find that exceptional customer service requires a deep care and attention. And again, the quality of current automated systems is unlikely to match that level.
There may be extra aspects of cloud service support which aren’t offered by all providers, such as real-time monitoring and troubleshooting assistance. Continuous support will be prepared to do anything to minimise downtime and keep your business running seamlessly. Troubleshooting and ongoing detection work to do exactly this – by quickly identifying and resolving issues your cloud service provider can mitigate growing risk.
As a last note, make sure you’re aware of the terms and conditions surrounding customer support. Some providers may have a time-limit, so take the time to check there are no such limitations.
Reach out to an expert for more guidance
As experts in end-to-end London IT support delivery, our team is always on hand to answer any questions you may have about seeking cloud services. So, if you have any specific queries on this topic or would like to enquire about migrating to the cloud, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our specialists for a free, no-obligation chat about your business needs.