In today’s fast-paced, do-it-yourself world, you’re constantly pressured to believe that you can—and should—do everything. Deep down, we all know that’s impossible. It’s important to distinguish between the things that are doable, and the things that could cost you a colossal amount of time and money.
Cloud infrastructure often falls into the latter. It’s a complex task and it typically turns out best when you get it done by a reliable cloud vendor who ensures security, flexibility, speed, accessibility, disaster recovery and cost-efficiency
But with so many cloud infrastructure vendors in the market, selecting the right one can be a challenge. Here are seven capabilities your next cloud vendor should have. Happy hunting.
1. Enterprise quality infrastructure
Look for a vendor that can equip data centers with the right security facilities, including fire suppression systems, power redundancies, cooling, etc. As a result, you will get a superior quality infrastructure that protects your data center against incidents.
2. High uptime guarantee with SLAs
An ideal vendor can guarantee a high uptime for seamless business operations and offer an SLA that suits your business requirements. Consequently, they can help you with a better alternative to manage the cost of potential downtime.
3. Scalability according to the business model
The vendor must be capable of scaling according to your changing business requirements. Your business may have expanded, or you may have launched new features that require additional computing power. The vendor’s ability to scale up or down per your IT needs is critical to your business.
4. Expertise in incident and problem management
Incidents can occur even with the best systems and processes in place. Therefore, consider an IT vendor who can offer a team of experienced personnel that can help manage critical incidences by quickly finding the best solution and bringing back normalcy with minimal impact on the business.
5. 24x7 expert support
As companies grow, their need for 24x7 support also increases. You would need a vendor that can offer support round the clock to get immediate help whenever needed and help you resolve issues before it is too late.
6. Best-in-class security and compliance
Your vendor’s certifications must match your legal and regulatory compliance requirements. Make sure that the supplier can offer a secure data center and have a reliable backup setup to eliminate any risk of data loss, data theft or cyberattack.
7. Completely managed operations and pay-as-you-go model
The vendor should be able to cover all your requirements as well as offer flexibility to pay only for what you use. Generally, payment granularity of months, if not hours, would be ideal.