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When businesses move to the cloud, they do not necessarily have the IT expertise or time required to properly manage tasks such as monitoring, optimisation and resource management, which form an integral part of managing cloud infrastructure. The solution is to opt for managed cloud services, where these and other tasks are handled by the service provider. However, for this to be successful, it is essential that the business chooses the right cloud solution partner. Here, we explain what to look for in a managed cloud service provider.
Cloud service providers – an overview
A managed cloud service provider is essentially a cloud service provider that offers additional management services to its customers. Businesses that outsource these management tasks to their providers see the workload on their IT teams reduced, leaving them with more time for business-focused projects, whilst also reducing the costs of acquiring in-house expertise.
As nobody understands the infrastructure better than the provider operating it, it makes perfect sense to hand these tasks over to the provider. What’s more, it is possible to create bespoke managed solutions, where the cloud provider can offer an expanded range of services tailored to the customer’s needs.
What should you look for in a cloud service provider?
Below, we outline the key factors you should look for in a provider if you are seeking a managed cloud solution.
Expertise and experience
If you outsource the management of your cloud infrastructure, it is essential that the provider possesses the expertise required to carry out these tasks effectively. As there are now so many different cloud models available, it is important that the provider is capable of handling public, private, hybrid and multi-cloud environments, as well as solutions such as IaaS, PaaS and SaaS, in addition to monitoring, optimisation and resource management.
Security and compliance
Downtime, data breaches, software faults and ransom demands are just a few of the disasters that can result from cyberattacks. These days, such attacks are more sophisticated and damaging than ever, which is why cybersecurity must be a key consideration when choosing a managed cloud service provider. You should look for a provider such as eukhost, which utilises in-house cyber security expertise and employs advanced security tools, such as next-generation FortiGate firewalls, to protect your cloud infrastructure from intrusions, malware and DDoS attacks. The provider must also be familiar with your organisation’s compliance and governance requirements so that it can help you achieve compliance with regulations such as the GDPR and PCI DSS.
The chosen provider must also have solutions in place for disaster recovery and business continuity, such as continuous cloud-based backups, and must be able to maintain uptime even if the data centre goes offline due to natural disasters.
Latest technologies
Technological progress is advancing at a rapid pace, so if you have outdated infrastructure, it could put your business at a disadvantage. Make sure your cloud provider invests in the latest hardware and applications. Look for ISO 2000, ISO 9001 and ISO 27001-accredited data centres with redundant and hyper-converged architecture to protect your virtual cloud servers from hardware and network failures. The hardware must be fast and reliable, so look for Intel Xeon servers with ultra-fast SSD storage. At the same time, the provider must offer a comprehensive software package to ensure security, reliability and performance.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
A good managed cloud service provider has sufficient confidence in its capabilities to offer guarantees to customers in the form of SLAs. These must cover a number of performance areas relating to its responsibilities towards customers. Typical examples of SLAs for managed cloud services include guarantees of 100 per cent uptime and on-demand scalability. The SLA must also explain what happens if the provider fails to meet the specified minimum service level.
Automation
Cloud service providers have access to incredibly advanced tools that enable them to offer better services to their customers and reduce the likelihood of human error. These include next-generation firewalls, which are capable of detecting and preventing emerging threats, as well as server monitoring tools that can automatically optimise performance, identify hardware issues and prevent downtime. Tools of this kind improve the quality of cloud services and help customers maintain high levels of productivity, so it is advantageous to choose a hosting provider that uses them.
Summary
Moving to a managed cloud solution offers not only the benefits of cloud technology but also a range of valuable management services. However, to ensure that the transition to a managed solution is effective, it is important to choose the right provider.