Businesses are increasingly turning from traditional outsourced hosting services like colocation and dedicated servers to cloud-based computing. According to research carried out by Gartner, the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) sector will grow by 17.4 percent through 2016. Within SaaS, business intelligence applications category will grow by 27.1 percent, office suite applications by 40.7 percent, and digital content creation applications by 32.2 percent. These statistics show that cloud computing has a bright future and is one of the fastest growing segments in the IT industry. When choosing private cloud providers, you need to consider several factors very carefully.
Security
Although private cloud platforms offer better security than their public cloud counterparts, security is still a major concern. In fact, a study carried out by Forrester Inc. found that more than 50% of companies that rely on private cloud providers have had a security breach in the last 18 months. Choose a private cloud provider that monitors the cloud platform on a regular basis. This includes the use of firewalls, systems to detect intrusions, and the use of state of the art password protection. Qualified private cloud providers will have a full time staff of security experts that are on call 24x7x365.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
In simple terms, SLAs outline what clients should expect in terms of service delivery. This shows the level of commitment you can expect from your private cloud provider. Be wary of numbers such as 99.9 percent uptime. This can translates into a downtime of 1 hour every month. In addition, your cloud service provider should offer an Operating Level Agreement (OLA). This defines who is responsible for what in case of a service breakdown. When speaking to client references, ask them about their individual experience with the provider’s SLA and OLA.
Data Ownership
You should not assume that data ownership is not a potential issue. Find out from your cloud provider what happens to your private data if you fail to make monthly payments on time or if you are unhappy with their service? At the same time, find out if you can export your data to another cloud platform. These data ownership issues can make or break your business. Several of our past clients have has issues migrating data from one vendor to another. Make sure you have a written guarantee!
Compliance
Make sure your service provider complies with regulations governing data storage, access, and confidentiality. This includes the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), Sarbanes-Oxley and SSAE16.
APIs and Technology Stack
Find out if you can access the cloud provider’s Application Programming Interface (API). This makes it easier to access the underlying infrastructure of both provision and de-provision servers. Make sure the private cloud platform uses a technology stack that is compatible with your applications.
The private cloud offers businesses many benefits. However, you should analyze private cloud providers very carefully. That is, scrutinize data security measures, SLAs, and data ownership with a fine tooth comb.