Every company is unique, so the right service provider for you could be the wrong cloud service provider for someone else and vice versa! So, with a unique company and many cloud services to choose from, what are a couple of factors to consider when making your decision? We’ll discuss a few below.
Cost
When you’re considering any important investment for your company (which cloud technology definitely is), the cost is always going to be a factor to consider. That certainly doesn’t mean that you should automatically choose the cheapest cloud service provider, but you don’t want to overpay, either.
Don’t base your cost estimations on the listed price from cloud services providers. Cost varies by usage and other details. If there’s a cost calculator on the cloud service provider’s website, you can take advantage of that. If not, you should do some research to get a better idea of what the total cost of the cloud services will be. Remember to include transition costs like employee training in your estimations, too.
Compliance
It’s absolutely vital for cloud service providers to help your company be in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and industry standards. Depending on your industry, you may be subject to regulations like HIPPA. GDPR could also be a factor. The cloud service provider you choose should be equipped to help you meet your regulatory obligations.
Variety of Tools and Features
There are many different cloud service providers out there and they offer a wide variety of cloud services. To get the most out of your cloud services, you should choose a provider that can supply all the tools and features your business needs.
This is where it’s important to know your business requirements inside and out. Once you have a clear idea of what you need, you can start searching for cloud service providers who can meet those needs.
Know whether you want platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), or some combination of the three. Software as a service is the most likely choice, but every business is different. Choose a cloud service provider who is known for providing high-quality cloud services in the area you need.
Data Security
Using cloud services means storing your sensitive data elsewhere. As you can probably guess, that creates a certain level of risk when it comes to data security. You need to trust that your cloud service provider will protect your company’s data even better than you could have.
Check to make sure that any cloud service provider you’re considering offers data backup in the event of software or hardware failure and preventative measures to keep third parties from accessing your data. These are vital data security measures that you need to be able to count on. Your cloud service provider should also continually update the software as needed to protect against new threats.
If you need help picking a cloud service, reach out to us! 911 PC Help is the expert on all things IT and cloud computing. There’s no better team to have by your side when you’re selecting cloud services.