How to choose a Cloud services that suits your needs
Choosing a cloud server that is ideal for your business can be tough, mainly due to two factors. Firstly, there is no common framework that can assess CSP (Cloud Service Provider). Also, none of the CSPs are known to be the same. But before we move on to the factors that you need to concentrate on choosing the right cloud, let us take a look into the types of cloud options available in the market.
Cloud types
Cloud types can be broadly classified into three categories as mentioned below:
Public Clouds
This option is ideal to store data that is not sensitive. It uses a shared infrastructure that caters to the needs of numerous customers. It is available in two modes – free as well as pay-per-use. Cyber attacks on public clouds can be common.
Examples of public clouds are: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), IBM’s Blue Cloud, Google Cloud and Windows Azure.
Pros:
- Flexible
- Scalable
- Affordable
- Not much management headaches for you
Cons:
- Security easy to breach
- Certain industries have to comply
Private Clouds
It is ideal for storing sensitive data. It is known to the server a single customer at a time using proprietary infrastructure. It is a good option to choose for business models that keep changing and whose needs cannot be predicted.
Pros:
- Scalable
- Secured
Cons:
- You need to manage the issues
- May incur increased costs, especially for maintenance, tools, virtualization, etc.
Hybrid Clouds
As the name suggests, it is the outcome of the combination of the best features from both of the above-mentioned types. It consists of multiple public and private clouds. Shifting workloads is much easier between the servers. Depending on the sensitivity of the data, organizations can choose where to store the information. It is more appropriate for workloads that are highly changeable.
Pros:
- Most flexible
- Ideal for remote users and mobile access
- Boosted agility
Cons:
- The infrastructure is quite complex
- Management can be tough
- Some security risks
- Higher costs
All the cloud options you can come across in the market belong to any of the three above-mentioned categories.
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Factors that influence the choice of cloud service
You can determine the ideal cloud provider for your business once you evaluate how the provider caters the below criteria and how efficient they can be to support the uniqueness of your business.
- Security
Your information can be sensitive. While some clouds are vulnerable to cyber attacks, some can promise you added security. You must consider the sensitivity of your data to accordingly decide the provider that can serve your purpose. The security measures and mechanisms vary among all providers and you must pay close attention to what they have in offer for you.
- Compliance
All businesses have certain standards to comply with the respective organization and business. HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR and PCI DSS are some of the common frameworks and you need to understand the compliance requirements for your data once they are on the infrastructure of public clouds.
- Architecture
The architecture of the cloud provider is going to be incorporated into your business workflow depending on your choice. The architecture is different for all providers and you must consider the nature of your business to make the ideal choice. It can also affect the storage of your data as the archival storage also varies among the options.
- Manageability
Managing some clouds require minimal effort, letting you concentrate on your goals and strategies to better extents while other options may require you to create a separate team for the purpose. It depends solely on the requirements of your business and choosing the wrong one can leave you vulnerable to a lot of risks.
- Service levels
Some businesses demand a stricter response time, availability, support and capacity. Service Level Agreements for cloud services must be paid close attention so that you can ideally choose the one aligned to your needs and demands. It also helps in the establishment of a transparent relationship in terms of the contract including the legal requirements of data security.
- Support
Support is of prime importance especially to avoid or solve issues at faster rates. Varied providers offer varied support services and the type of support can also vary. Some may provide services through chat, while others may choose email or call support. The response time also varies and these questions must be clarified up front.
- Costs
Budget is an essential condition for all dealings and choosing a cloud provider is no exception. You must consider what you can or must invest for the services you need and then decide accordingly based on your requirements. There are multiple structures for pricing including AWS, pay-per-use, reservation, discounts on volume and other options.
- Container capabilities
The last criterion in the list is the flexibility of shifting workloads. Though it is not necessary for all businesses, it is vital for some. If your business is one of the ones that demand more flexibility, you must consider the extent and then decide accordingly.
You must consider these factors to analyze your needs before finalizing on choosing the cloud provider. Apart from choosing the ideal service, it can also bring you great savings and value to your money.
