Choosing a cloud service provider is like giving the keys of the front door to your business to somebody else. Worrying, isn’t?
With IT industries boarding the plane to the cloud, you need to make sure you don’t land up somewhere else!
Cloud hosting providers in India and around the world are mushrooming quickly to take up the opportunities in the rapidly growing cloud market. But for the customer, with the availability of so many options, it is becoming increasingly tougher to decide which one to choose.
Let’s face the fact, choosing a cloud provider is probably the most difficult task, closely followed by successful migration to the cloud. After all, “Well begun is half done”.
So, what’s the trick! Well, we will provide you with 10 questions here which you need to ask from your cloud service provider before making any cloud purchase, that will help you in making a safe landing!
Top questions to ask before making Cloud purchase:
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Do you understand my business needs?
This is the basic question to start from. CSPs fill in the blanks only, which means your needs are the driving force behind the migration to the cloud. It’s important for a cloud service provider to understand your business and try to fill the gaps with proper cloud solutions. It is also important to know whether he will be able to scale according to your business needs or not. Hence this question is a must!
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How will cloud impact my business productivity and returns?
We have heard about the fact that “Grass is always greener on the other side.” So don’t simply move just because your competitor is already on cloud. Understand and analyze the difference between “now and then.” You need to compare the pricing structure of your purchase and thoroughly understand how pay-as-you-go model will ensure better returns before coming over some conclusion.
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How much experience do you have in the Cloud industry?
Though the cloud concept is new and evolving, but the problem it solves had risen years before its introduction. Hence, you need an industry expert with years of experience, as they would have seen and resolved many cloud issues. It would be even better if you can ask them to provide testimonials, to show their genuinity. For instance, ZNetLive with over 15 years of experience, can be your perfect one stop destination with multiple cloud offerings and our cloud experts can devise the right cloud strategy for your enterprise.
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Which customer support services do you offer?
Nearly every company these days provide customer support after sales to comprehend the queries and doubts of the customers regarding the products and services. It is because your service provider is undoubtedly a cloud expert, but you may or may be not. Hence, you should ask your cloud service provider whether he will be able to provide you support after you adopt cloud.
A technical support that offers you help 24×7, including holidays should be preferred. Focus on the following points:
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How easy it is to reach the support team?
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Is there any way through which real communication can be achieved like an IM or video chats?
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“I am not comfortable with moving the entire application, can I choose which application to move?”
By asking this question, you are evaluating the flexibility of your cloud service provider. You should know how or in what parts can your application be moved over to cloud. Whether your cloud service provider is giving you the various cloud deployment models like public, private or hybrid cloud or not. The ones who are here to stay, would certainly offer you maximum variety.
For ex. ZNetLive has been making its mark in the cloud industry with varying product offerings. So that you can find a one-stop destination for all your cloud needs.
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What data will be moved and who will own the data?
Whether you are moving some parts or entire application, it’s important to know who owns the data and who can manipulate it. The control will largely depend on the sensitivity of the data. Also, you should ask that how will your cloud provider address data integration between cloud services and on-premise apps.
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How secure is my data? Who can access it?
Protecting your data is crucial and its breach can lead your sensitive data open to everyone. So before moving data, ensure there are security policies in place by your service provider. Probe the backup solutions provided by him. For ex, if your company is using OneDrive as a backup tool, you need to know how you will access the data at the time of any data loss.
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What is the SLA?
A service level agreement is yet another factor of concern. Deeply study the points and level of service expected by the service provider before agreeing upon the purchase. The SLA may include:
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Details of the service provided.
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Time window for each level of service.
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Responsibilities of each party.
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Escalation procedure and service tradeoffs.
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Reporting process.
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What is your uptime?
When you are moving applications to the cloud, your data is managed by someone else’s system. Hence, it’s important to know what will be the uptime of your service provider’s system. Mostly, the ideal uptime is 99.999% which ensures maximum availability and accessibility to your data.
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How will I get set up and start accessing my cloud?
After selecting which cloud provider to go with, you need to get clear about the user guidelines, and other things like:
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Sign up process
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How to add users?
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Access permissions
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It is better to opt for a cloud service provider who will be able to guide you completely from sign up till complete installation.
Services ZNetLive offer:
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We hope that these 10 question will help you come out of your dilemma of choosing the right cloud provider. Do share your thoughts about this write up through our comments section below.
