In today’s world, if you’re not in the cloud, you’re really not anywhere…
Most businesses operate at least some part of their enterprise in the cloud, both for efficiency and cost effectiveness. And with the ever-growing group of providers working in the cloud, making selections and creating important vendor relationships is getting even easier. Cloud relationships let IT professionals and business decision makers provide benefits such as these to their companies:
- Cost savings
- Risk reduction
- Business agility
- Ease of management
Working in the cloud has literally opened up the world for opportunities and businesses are quickly realizing the benefits of adopting this way of working. One of the most critical aspects of working in the cloud is knowing who to work with. How do you choose vendors in the cloud? At the end of the day, choosing a cloud vendor is still about choosing the best vendor for your business.
- Just as you would prior to cloud services and solutions, you’ll want a cloud vendor to prove that they can do the job. Ask them if they have ever deployed or developed any similar initiatives and ask to see examples or case studies. You have a right to “kick the tires” a little bit and see what their track record is before committing.
- Determine their Service Level Agreement before entering into any product or service arrangement. Any reputable vendor will provide the information you need up front so there are no surprises which could jeopardize your operations.
- Make sure that any cloud vendor can meet any compliance and security issues you may have. Security is the lightning rod for cloud applications so it’s good to understand how your vendor will protect your business.
- Be sure to have the enterprise integration discussion with any vendor you are considering. Budgets can be impacted if there are any limitations such as pay-per-use which are not fully understood before implementation.
Cloud computing is fast becoming the dream of IT professionals and those making operational decisions for businesses of all sizes. And while many things have changed with the introduction of cloud solutions, some remain the same when it comes to vendor relations. Look for transparency, quality and deliverables that will protect and grow your business.
