Choosing the best cloud computing providers can be challenging. There are more and more cloud computing companies out there. So how do you know which one to choose?
Choosing your cloud computing hosting
Choosing the right cloud computing provider goes hand in hand with the needs you have. If you need small web storage to be able to share documents with clients or employees, you’ll need a much less critical environment than if you want to host your entire storage infrastructure.
While the credibility of your provider is still important when your needs are smaller, if you decide to outsource your whole infrastructure, you’ll have to be much more careful when you make your choice.
Small business cloud computing
For most small and medium businesses, a simple to use cloud provider like Dropbox or Google drive will cover most of their needs. You can also use a service like iWeb to host your web server. But rarely will they need bigger cloud computing solutions.
Large providers for enterprise – like Amazon S3 – also sometimes provide cloud computing for small businesses at a very interesting cost.
Enterprise cloud computing
For enterprises, most big IT companies offer a cloud service that would cover all your needs. You could find local enterprise or go with global ones.
Amazon was one of the first in the business of cloud computing with their AmazonS3 service. They offer SAAS, PAAS and IAAS. These services will also be offered by major IT players like Cisco and IBM.
Telecommunications companies also generally provide cloud computing services. For example, in North America, giants like AT&T and Bell Canada
offer that kind of service
How to choose your cloud computing provider?
Know your needs
To make an informed decision, you’ll have to define clearly your needs. There are many different ways to go on the cloud and there are many different providers for those needs.
First, evaluate what you want to do with this online storage.
Do you need?
- Sporadic file sharing
- Massive data storage
- Online software – SAAS
- Full infrastructure replacement – IAAS
Those questions will help you choose the right kind of cloud computing provider. To know more about which type of cloud computing you need, see this article on the types of cloud computing that exists.
Is the provider stable?
As it would matter for your own network, the stability of your cloud computing provider is crucial. This is even more important because you don’t have any control over the infrastructure, so you’ll have to trust the providers to correct the problems rapidly when they occur. Normally, they should have better knowledge than you have, so they should be more efficient.
You should never go under 99% availability. Aim for 99.9% or 99.99% if possible. Keep in mind that 99.9% still means that your access could be down up to 8.7 hours per year (365 days x 24 hours * 0,1%). 99.9% availability generally means that they have fail-safe mechanism to make sure you always have access, but from time to time they will have to do maintenance on their infrastructure. This is normal and you would still have to do that if it was your own server.
If you are looking for infrastructure as a service, the stability and security of your provider are even more critical. You’ll outsource whole segments of your network, so if it goes down, your entire infrastructure will be too.
Go local!
For the same quality of service, go local! This way, not only will you stimulate your local industry, but you will also be able to visit you supplier data center and develop a relationship with the company. This way you can make sure he is solid and professional. But once again… never make any sacrifice on the quality.
Also, if there is a major problem, it will be simpler to use legal recourse if the supplier is in the same country.
If you decide to go with cloud computing for major parts of your infrastructure (IAAS), you should definitively consider going with a local, credible provider. By visiting your supplier, you can make sure that he has what it takes to ensure the quality of service you can expect.
Is your data safe?
When choosing a cloud computing provider, you have to make sure that he takes security and data safety seriously. The bigger the company, the more interesting they become for hackers. You don’t want people to steal your data, so you have to do your homework!
Is your provider making backups?
Generally, cloud computing providers won’t make backups. So if there is a problem with their infrastructure, they may not be able to restore your data.
But in either case, make sure you do your own backups. Ultimately, you are responsible for your data.
Other considerations
SLA – Service Level Agreement
A service license agreement is part of the contract between you and your provider that dictates the level of service the provider should give you when you have a problem with their service.
Normally, you should have different ranges for different gravity of problem. If you have an urgent problem – no access at all -, will they fix the problem in 4 hours or 48 hours? How long can you afford to lose your connection to that cloud computing provider? Seriously take that into account since it could put down your business for a while. A SLA is negotiable and sometimes you can pay a premium to have access to a better service.
In a normal SLA, the response time for those two types of problems should be clearly defined.
Urgent problem
An urgent problem is when you have no access to the service or the functionalities are seriously limited. Note that you should always call your provider
when having an urgent problem. An urgent problem for you may not be one for them.
Non-urgent problem
Non-urgent means that you have problems using your environment, but it is still functional.
Standard response times you can expect
| Urgent | Non-urgent | |
|---|---|---|
| Critical environment | 24/7 instant response to 4 hours | 24 to 48 hours |
| Important environment | 4 hours to 8 hours | 8 hours to 24 hours |
| Useful environment | 24 hours to a week | More than a week |
Legal considerations
There are also legal considerations to ponder when choosing your provider.
You have to consider the fact that you will store personal data from your employees and clients. Ultimately, you may be responsible for that data if it gets stolen – even if the data loss wasn’t your fault. So if your provider gets attacked, you may be responsible for their problem.
Also, you may not have to right to store that data on your provider’s network. A good example is the legal considerations of the Patriot Act in Canada. Since the United States has passed this bill, a public or any company that stores confidential governmental data is not legally allowed to store it on any US based storage center.
Choosing the right cloud computing provider is very important and you should make sure of the credibility of the company before outsourcing any part of your IT
infrastructure.
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