How to choose the best cloud service provider for your workloads

Cloud computing trends show year-on-year growth, with the global cloud computing market expected to reach a staggering $1 trillion by 2028.

If you’re considering externalising your IT systems, ensuring you pick the best cloud provider in terms of compatibility and cost will be key to your company’s long-term success. However, with a long list of cloud service providers to choose from, it can be hard to select the one that’s the right fit for your company’s needs.

Here, we’ve put together some of the most important factors to consider when comparing and shortlisting cloud service providers:

Security compliance  

Security is of utmost concern when moving data to the cloud, so it’s crucial that you put together questions which relate to your industry, including regulatory requirements and the type of data your company deals with.

To comply with elements of GDPR, you’ll need to understand what it will take to achieve compliance once your applications and data are living in a hosted cloud infrastructure.

As part of your checks, find out whether the cloud service provider complies with certifications like ISO 27001 or the government’s Cyber Essentials Scheme. You could also ask for internal security audit reports to see what steps have been taken to remedy any issues previously raised.

Additionally, should the worse happen, it’s helpful to understand the cloud service provider’s data loss and data breach notification procedures to ensure they are aligned with your company’s regulatory obligations.

Ease of migration  

For any move to the cloud, it’s crucial to assess whether the cloud service provider’s platform and preferred technologies align with your current environment. This will determine what applications and data can be migrated to the cloud and what delivery models work best – SaaS, PaaS or IaaS.

Think about whether the cloud provider’s provisions and services suit your workloads and management preferences. There may be a lot of additional customisation work needed to make your workloads suitable for their platforms.

That being said, many cloud service providers offer comprehensive migration services and assistance to their customers. They will often have technical staff that can fill skills gaps in your migration teams, so make sure you have a good understanding of the support that will be available.

Established company profile

Choosing a provider based on cost-effectiveness may look attractive in the short term, but assessing the long-term financial profile of your shortlisted providers is more important. Your chosen provider should have sufficient capital and resources to refund your losses if they get into difficulties.

Gather as much information as possible to get a good understanding of your cloud provider’s market share and financial stability. Look at online reviews, reports on Companies House and the history of the management team on LinkedIn to see whether they show consistent performance.

It’s worthwhile asking about any planned potential mergers, acquisitions or other corporate changes on the horizon, too.

Clear performance expectations

When deciding what to look for in a cloud service provider, Service Level Agreements are another key aspect to consider. As a cloud customer, it’s vital to have a clear contractual relationship which clarifies service availability (guaranteed uptime), accessibility and response times.

SLAs should specify how issues will be identified and resolved, and in what time frame. If a service provider falls below performance expectations, they should also outline what compensation is available and what the procedure is for customers to claim.

The latest revision of the ISO standards for Service Level Agreements ISO/IEC 19086-1:2016 is a useful framework when assessing cloud providers’ agreements.

Summary   

Choosing the best cloud service provider is no easy task, however, the considerations above will help you form an analytical framework to determine what to look for.  As well as recognising ‘hard’ factors like certifications and standards in your choice, it’s important to consider the ‘soft’ factors such as what existing customers say in testimonials and case studies.

Do also take time to establish workable SLAs and contractual terms with your chosen cloud service provider – they’re the main assurances you have that services will be delivered as agreed.

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