Small and Medium
sized business cannot perform without robust and reliable IT. IT has
become an essential component of business. Without systems that meet business
needs, a company will likely fail. As such, small businesses should be putting
aside 1 - 3% of their annual sales for IT maintenance and improvements. One
of these considerations could be utilization of “the cloud”.
When you consider
moving to the cloud, here are several questions you should ask your
provider.
- What
are the fees associated with the service? What is the fee structure? Do you pay by data
stored? Resources utilized? Your company is growing…make sure you
understand the impact of your growth on the service procured.
- How
does your data security work?
Security of data in the cloud is always a top issue for all businesses.
Before committing, It's a good idea to get a picture of where exactly your
data will be stored, who has access to it and the level of storage
security.
- What
is your performance and availability?
There were many instances of outages and intrusions affecting cloud
services in 2012. While few lasted more than half a day, this got
many questioning just how stable the cloud is. When talking to cloud
providers you should ask them what their uptime guarantees are and if
their cloud is scalable - if you need more computing resources, are they
available?
- Are
my systems compatible with your service?
As a small or medium business, you likely don't have the funds to do a
one-time, full transition into the cloud. This means, that it would be a
good idea to ask cloud providers if their systems are compatible with
yours and if you will be able to easily migrate your data over. Beyond
that, you should also ask if you can get your systems off the cloud.
- What
is your support policy?
As you will likely not be hosting a cloud server in your office, you will
be at the mercy of the provider. It's advisable to review their support
policy, such as whether they have a dedicated emergency contact and the
general response time to issues and inquiries.
Finding
the right cloud provider doesn’t have to be a difficult task. Asking the right
questions, comparing what different providers say and finally comparing the
findings against your needs, should help you find the perfect provider. If
you're interested in learning more about cloud services and how they can be
employed in your business, why not start with us at TURNkey IT? We can help
find a solution for you plus a whole lot more.
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