How to select the right cloud service provider for your organization?
Cloud storage service is essential for a company’s IT department. As IT systems are getting externalized, picking the right cloud service provider is critical for your business for achieving long-term success. The cloud service market is vaster than one can imagine, with several providers offering a larger number of services. From big names like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google to smaller companies offering bespoke services, there is something for everyone in the market. But this makes it harder for one to select the right cloud provider from so many choices? By defining your unique needs against a selection of service providers, the process will get easier.
When to get a cloud service provider?
Before choosing which service is best for your business, you must assess your business needs. After you clarify your specific requirements and expectations from a service provider, then it is the right time to start looking for a cloud service provider that checks all your boxes. By assessing your needs in advance, you will be comparing the platforms against your checklist instead of comparing them, one against the other. That is the best way to shortlist your best options. With the newfound clarity on technical service, security, data governance, and service management requirements, you will be able to more effectively interrogate your selected group of service providers.
Obviously, you will have to migrate all your data to the cloud platform you choose, so the service provider you pick must be by the workloads of migration too.
How to choose a cloud service provider?
When it comes to selecting a cloud provider, every organization may have a unique evaluation criterion based on their unique needs. However, there are some common areas of focus that may apply to every organization during any service provider assessment. These factors can be grouped into eight sections for effectively comparing suppliers and selecting a provider that delivers a cloud storage service of the value and benefits as per your organization's expectation. We have refined the key factors into a list of eight consideration areas.
Certifications & Standards
Technologies & Service Roadmap
Data Security, Data Governance and Business policies
Service Dependencies & Partnerships
Contracts, Commercials & SLAs
Reliability & Performance
Migration Support, Vendor Lock-in & Exit Planning
Business health & Company profits
With the help of these eight criteria, you will be able to get the best suitable service provider from your organization through a fairly less tiring process. The evaluation process is not based on rigid factor though, the assessment includes some hard and soft factors of prospective providers. For best results, recognize and validate the certifications and standards both the provider adheres to along with what their previous customers say about them in case studies and testimonials.