IT Insights

What a good cloud service provider should offer

It’s inconceivable for any business nowadays to operate without the cloud. It provides improved efficiency, greater flexibility, and increased productivity. But despite cloud computing’s numerous benefits, some businesses remain hesitant to adopt it, due to concerns about security, compliance requirements, and control. Here at Sabio IT, we found that some clients delay cloud adoption because they were uncertain about what to look for in a good cloud service provider. If you’re like many of our clients, we recommend looking for these key areas when choosing a cloud service provider.

High-level security

Many business owners believe that the cloud just isn’t secure. These fears aren’t unfounded, though, as cloud-based infrastructures — including some from major providers like AWS — have suffered a breach. But the common misconception that the cloud is inherently unsafe is just that — a misconception. In fact, major breaches have happened to companies that maintained data centers in-house, including Target in 2013 and JP Morgan Chase in 2014. Although it’s difficult to determine where breaches are more likely to happen, cloud services providers like Microsoft follow an international code of standard for data privacy and are legally obligated to keep personally identifiable information under strict data access rules. Furthermore, they’re obligated to guarantee their customers that their data is stored in highly secure sites and managed by data security specialists.

Reliability

Many cloud service providers promise excellent service and a ‘high level of availability.’ But these promises should be indicated on a service level agreement (SLA), which guarantees that your chosen provider won’t go back on their promise. When selecting a cloud service provider, you want to consider one that offers high availability on components that your business needs the most such as your servers, so it’s important for you to understand availability levels. For example, a 99.9% availability means your business will encounter 44 minutes of downtime per month. Bear in mind that availability varies for every component (e.g., servers, applications) and if a provider delivers less than what’s acceptable to your business, it’s best to look elsewhere.

Fast response

A dependable cloud provider should be able to respond fast and answer any questions you may have, no matter the hour. Their response times should be included in their SLA, so you know what to expect should you need help. Cloud providers’ SLA should also define ticket severity levels and prioritize business-critical tickets. That means resolving unexpected server downtime and cyberthreats take precedence over increasing storage capacity and other non-critical tasks.

Compliance

Highly regulated businesses like healthcare and finance need to store customer data in a highly secure location as failure to comply with regulatory authorities can result in hefty fines. But since many types of organizations collect customer data, cloud service providers should address concerns about where their data will be stored, how secure their data centers are, and who will manage them. As such, cloud vendors should always account for data integrity and state the extent of their responsibilities in their SLAs.

Worry-free, cost-efficient maintenance

Renting your computing resources eliminates the need to purchase servers and pay for their maintenance. The cost benefits of cloud computing are clear, but what’s even better is the operational efficiency that results from relieving internal staff of keeping systems and software up to date since they tend to take a lot of time. For this reason, vendors are compelled to provide the best service bundles and flat-rate IT services like Sabio WiseCare™ All Inclusive Managed Services, which cover all the cloud tools and support you’ll ever need. We’ve only scratched the surface of what the cloud can offer your business. If you want to learn how Sabio Information Technologies’ computer consultants can enhance daily operations via our comprehensive cloud solutions, give us a call today.

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