What is the Cloud?
The “cloud” is a metaphor referring to a virtual space where a wide variety of services and software operate on the Internet. Businesses using cloud providers are storing data in this space instead of on hard drives. Cloud providers like Apple iCloud or Google Drive allow users to access and download their information at any time, regardless of their location in the world. Clients of cloud providers can also share their information with others by giving them permission to view specific data.
Cloud storage systems can be designed to store specific files, such as emails, images, videos, or vast amounts of data. Storing information on a cloud provider service involves transmitting files of what you want to be stored to the data server. This server records and secures all files you send to it via the Internet. By accessing the data server using proprietary interface technology or standard protocols, you can retrieve, manipulate and view anything you have sent to the cloud server from any location, as long as you have a digital device and an internet connection.
How to Choose a Cloud Provider
The cloud computing market is forecast to increase by nearly 22 percent in 2023, achieving a financial growth of almost $600 billion. People paying for cloud services typically subscribe to the service for a certain time frame or opt for a pay-as-you-go plan. Although the pay-as-you-go (usage-based) method of using cloud services is attractive to individuals or small companies, it is not an important factor to consider when choosing the right cloud provider to accommodate your needs.
One of the biggest challenges facing cloud providers involves privacy and data security. When you use the cloud to store data, you expect the cloud provider to have rigorous safeguards in place to protect your data from unauthorized breaches and access. Any cloud provider you may be considering should be able to show how they are consistently improving data security by staying current with the latest malware and hacker tools and that they employ qualified IT specialists who constantly monitor the operations of cloud servers and data centers.
While the idea of relocating large amounts of sensitive information into the cloud is intimidating to some people, cloud storage is actually one of the safest and most efficient methods for storing classified or highly vulnerable information.
Understanding Your Business Needs
Identifying Your Company’s IT Requirements
Company owners should ask themselves two questions before purchasing cloud provider services:
- Will our IT technicians require 24/7 support, or are they capable of handling integration with the cloud without 24/7 support? How much training will they need to navigate the processes involved with cloud services capably?
- If the cloud provider does offer 24/7 support, do they charge for this service?
If you choose a cloud provider that charges for direct support, and your IT department requires frequent, on-demand assistance, consider finding a cloud provider that includes 24/7 support in their plans.
Determining the Budget for Cloud Services
When looking at how much your company can reasonably spend on a cloud provider, remember that using the cloud removes the necessity of purchasing new computer equipment, updating software, and acquiring the latest malware detectors. The long-term return-on-investment (ROI) benefits are just one of the reasons why businesses are migrating data to the cloud and diverting budget surpluses to improving other areas of their company.
Types of Cloud Services
Below are a 3 types of cloud services and their features.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
Cloud providers that outsource equipment, such as servers, networking components, and storage capacities, are providing the “infrastructure as a Service” (IaaS) model of cloud computing. An IaaS provider’s primary function is to represent a company’s virtual platform. IaaS providers own the equipment and are expected to run, maintain and house all components that a company has purchased on a pay-per-use schedule. Iaas is considered the simplest and easiest cloud service to use when securing data in the cloud computing environment.
IaaS providers offer virtual or physical machines, file-based storage, software bundles, and IP addresses. Virtual machines are run by a hypervisor (kernel-based virtual machine or Xen) as guests. Hypervisor pools support many virtual machines that can rapidly adjust services to accommodate the changing needs of customers.
What Kind of Business Would Benefit from IaaS?
A company using IaaS only requires the in-house expertise demanded by other, less virtual platforms. Employees working for a company with IaaS can devote more time to developing IT enhancements meant to contribute to the success of the company. In addition, cloud-based security provided by IaaS hypervisors is not interrupted by management issues that often occur in the day-to-day operation of mid-size to large businesses. Although it is common for IaaS providers to utilize shared databases, the risk of data becoming intermingled or breached is minimal due to strong cloud security.
IaaS and Data Security
Since IaaS providers retain physical connections to the cloud infrastructure, they are solely responsible for any data security breaches affecting the cloud service plan purchased by a company. Additionally, the implementation of security measures should maintain the ability of customers who access this service to perform transactions reliably and efficiently. With continuous advancements in data encryption, IaaS providers are popular with companies searching for secure cloud computing platforms that reduce overhead costs by minimizing virtual security risks.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Providers of SaaS distribute and host one or more software applications and their critical infrastructure components to companies over the Internet. Using authentication protocols, you can access SaaS through common web browsers by logging into the application. Utilizing Saas means you don’t have to install software on a computer or computer system.
Business applications offered by Saas include email, file sharing, human resources, and many other essential applications. Less expensive than buying multiple software licenses, Saas can be debugged and updated by most IT specialists.
An example of software-as-a-service is Slack, a cloud-based messaging platform providing private and public channels, app integrations, and video conferencing.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS gives companies the ability to deploy and operate customized cloud applications without the expense of establishing their own system infrastructure and servers. PaaS is more complicated to integrate than IaaS or SaaS but is the best option for creating apps. Developers use proprietary code to manage a PaaS, allowing them to manage apps solely without redirecting their attention to infrastructure demands.
PaaS providers maintain and monitor servers, operating systems, and various middleware. Messaging authentication, data management, and language stacks are common types of middleware included in a PaaS.
An example of platform-as-a-service is Heroku, It is a cloud-based, platform as a service (PaaS) for building, deploying, and running applications. Heroku supports several programming languages like Java, Node.js, Scala, Clojure, Python, PHP, and Go. It simplifies the deployment process and handles all the aspects of server administration.
The primary advantage of Platform-as-a-Service is its scalability and flexibility. Since developers can choose what programming language they use to run an app on PaaS, they can easily modify apps to evolve to the changing needs of their company.
Evaluating the Cloud Provider’s Capabilities
Data Security
One of the most important considerations businesses should examine before contracting with a cloud provider is how strong their security measures are for protecting data from unauthorized intrusions. For example, data encryption is essential for preventing hackers from accessing sensitive information in the cloud.
Although hackers may be able to “see” encrypted data, they will not be able to read it. Information that is encrypted using an algorithm incorporating encryption keys is called “ciphertext”. Classified encrypted data stored in a cloud can only be decoded by people who have access to a private decryption key. Encryption services provided by cloud providers include key-generated algorithms capable of producing random lists or a series of keys that are impossible to decode.
Redundancy
A cloud provider should also include redundancy as one aspect of their abilities. Redundancy provides the security of knowing that any problems affecting a cloud service’s infrastructure will not affect the integrity or accessibility of important information. Nearly all cloud providers now safeguard stored information by operating autonomous and geographically remote data facilities to ensure clients have uninterrupted access to their data. Users can also specify virtual server locations and create environments that are fully protected from internal and external failures.
Integration Capabilities
How seamless and affordable will it be to integrate a cloud provider’s services with your existing computer systems? With so many different types of cloud services available, businesses should avoid having to adopt excessive changes to their established infrastructure.
While companies today must continuously update their systems infrastructure to remain competitive, the best cloud providers should be able to integrate with existing systems without a company implementing extensive modifications to its systems.
Disaster Recovery
The ability to plan and execute successful recovery efforts surrounding an information disaster event indicates a cloud provider that is conscious and client-centered. Disaster mitigation and recovery propels the most successful cloud computing services to the forefront of cloud technology. As businesses continue relying on the cloud to store more and more data as a way to reduce overhead costs and relieve the burden of remaining responsible for the storage of fundamental entities.
Capability vs. Benefits of a Cloud Provider
Even when minimal security measures are taken with data sent to a cloud server, the ability to securely deposit centralized data for later access by authorized entities is greater with cloud technology than with traditional systems of saving and storing information. Moreover, cloud providers can commit their time and resources to continue solving issues with security and accessibility while users reap the benefits without worrying about overhead expenditures and costly maintenance of on-site computers.
Security and Compliance
Depending on what kind of data a business is storing in the cloud, the compliance and security licenses or certifications held by a cloud provider are of the utmost importance when choosing a cloud provider. For example, companies involved in the healthcare industry should ask cloud providers to show they are HIPAA-compliant regarding the protection of patient medical information.
Cloud providers with an ISO 27001 certification are in compliance with regulations regarding information security management systems. ISO 27018-certified cloud providers are compliant with regulations regarding the protection of personally identifiable information (PII) in the cloud.
Pricing Structure and Contracts
Pay-As-You-Go
A pay-as-you-go pricing plan bills businesses only for actual usage involving networking, storage, or other resources. This type of plan works well for companies that experience fluctuations in data transfer and storage needs.
Subscribing to a Cloud Service
Subscription pricing plans are usually offered by cloud providers that provide SaaS and PaaS services. Discounts on plans may be available when a company chooses a subscription contract.
Reserved (Long-term) Contracts
Reserved instances involve a one to three-year commitment to a cloud provider’s services. Companies may receive discounts as high as 75 percent on this type of contract compared to the price of pay-as-you-go or subscription contracts.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
SLAs are documents outlining all features and arrangements between a cloud provider and a client paying for cloud services. Service level agreements are legally binding but are flexible. SLAs should include language that allows them to be modified according to a company’s changing needs from the start date to the end date of the agreement.
Customer Support and Service Reliability
Cloud providers often offer different levels of customer support that are included in the SLA or as standalone services incurring additional costs. Initial response times to critical incidents, individual access to customer support, event management services, and penetration testing assistance are just a few items you should inquire about when choosing a cloud provider.
Service reliability refers to a cloud provider’s overall rate of downtime compared to uptime. More specifically, availability is the capacity for a cloud provider to function properly when it is accessed by a user. Alternately, reliability displays the probability (graphically or otherwise) of a cloud service providing expected functions over a period of time without experiencing failure.
Reviews and Case Studies
Always perform a thorough search for reviews of cloud providers before contacting them for more information. Reputable cloud service providers will publish client testimonials on their websites that are genuine and verified.
Established cloud providers often publish case studies of businesses that are using their services. Analyzing case studies of companies that are similar to your business model can help you decide whether this particular cloud service is right for your company.
Key Points
- IaaS, SaaS, and PaaS are the main types of cloud services.
- Each cloud provider offers different services, support levels, security measures, and systems applications.
- Determine your company’s budget, and IT department needs before entering into a service level agreement with a cloud provider.
- Read online reviews and case studies of cloud providers you are interested in contacting.
- Make sure the cloud provider can prove they are capable of long-term high reliability and availability. Ask to see compliance certifications (if applicable).
If you still want more help choosing a cloud provider, contact Stacklogic for expert, personalized advice that can ensure you choose the right one for your company’s needs.