The world is now powered by Tech, and almost every process depends on it. Businesses are running more efficiently than any other time in history because of current sophisticated technologies like cloud computing.
Benefits of Selecting Cloud Service Providers
With this, businesses no longer need to store, manage and process data on their local servers and computers but remote servers on the internet. This provides businesses with lots of benefits that include cost reduction, effective data backup and recovery, greater storage, quick deployment and access to information and automatic software integration.
Surely, these benefits easily outweigh the challenge of security fear that is associated with a third party having to handle your sensitive business information and also external hack attacks and threats.
Many businesses are now adopting cloud services, and the number of cloud providers is also increasing. Choosing the right one among many providers is becoming a nightmare. While cloud services may use the same tech, you should always remember that no two businesses are alike and so are cloud service providers. So, why can’t you just pick on any cloud service provider out there? It is because they are different in many aspects including:
1) The types of cloud they offer
Knowing the existing cloud types will enable you to choose one that suits your needs. These types of cloud include public, private, virtual private and hybrid cloud. You can use a public cloud when you want your resources to be available to the public.
It is the cheapest option though not good when dealing with sensitive data. With a private cloud, you get to enjoy the architecture of the cloud without surrendering the control of your data center. It is an expensive option but secure. A hybrid cloud is where you use both on-premise and cloud platforms.
2) Cloud service models
Another difference that cloud tech provides is the models that users can choose depending on their needs. These cloud service models are SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS which stand for software-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service, and infrastructure-as-a-service respectively.
A SaaS model is where one software application connects users through the web like Gmail and PaaS is where a cloud provider provides a hosted environment to the user like Microsoft Azure while IaaS is where the provider gives hardware services to the user like in Amazon.
3) Cloud service levels
Cloud service providers have different service level agreements (SLA) which define the performance of their systems together with the percentage uptime. So, choose the one with a high SLA because it will mean less time for downtime.
4) Pricing
It is a common practice to compare prices of a product from one shop to another, and this is the same with cloud services. However, you should not base your decision on only the price but also the quality and value of service.
Consider also the pricing structure and know whether you will be billed monthly or quarterly, the amount of ownership or if there are any other additional charges. For instance, Microsoft Azure pricing has no upfront and termination fees and allows you to only pay for what you use based on per minute billing.
5) Simplicity
It is important to consider user experience in a cloud service that you choose because you do not want an environment that is full of switches, dials, and knobs to deal with. Choose the one that offers simplicity in terms of user interface, command line interface, and API.
In the process of embracing various techs like the cloud for your business, it is necessary to choose the right service provider because there are no standard tech rules that are followed and so no two cloud providers are the same. 🙂