The field of informational technology is changing rapidly and showing no signs of slowing down. As an increasing number of IT systems are externalized, picking the right cloud computing provider has become critical to long-term success. Azure management and other key players are developing alongside the rapid innovation taking place and can provide you solid service. Here a few things to look out for when determining which cloud computing service will be serve you and your company.
1. What kind of features do they offer?
As a business person, you probably don’t need to hear this, but it is advice worth repeating. You always want to be looking to the future and trying to determine how your needs might change and evolve as your business grows and comes into its next generation version. You should look at a service provider and ask yourself how wide actually is the range for cloud computing technologies, integrations, and possibilities within their frameworks. In order for you to be able to build for scale, you need to be sure that you find a cloud vendor that can support your application for years to come. Look at how many different IaaS and PaaS services they have dedicated to various tasks that need to be performed by the server.
2. What pricing models are available?
You want to look for a service that offers a variety of pricing models depending on the what a company requires at any given time. This should generally include free tiers for startups and pricing transparency throughout the entirely of their options. Generally, cloud computing services have their own unique pricing and a pricing calculator to help you determine your costs upfront. These calculators are designed to be helpful, but can sometimes be a bit complicated if you haven’t used one before. Try to take advantage of any introductory offers available which can potentially help you assess your needs more fully before making a more long-term commitment.
3. How easy are they use?
Depending on your existing level of proficiency, there can be a pretty big learning curve when it comes to using these services. Ask questions how easy it is to iterate over the existing cloud architecture and make sure you actually understand how to use the services that will be made available to you at your price point. Check out the dashboard and see if you feel comfortable using it, if it feel overcrowded with services that you don’t need or even understand, that might not be the right service for you. Remember that you can use the default settings of the service in order to get started and then play around later as you get more comfortable.
4. What kind of tutorials and user support is available?
This can be a huge influencing factor, especially when starting out, or when looking to achieve any significant growth or change. Available of online resources to help you get different services up and running, as well as customer support via live chat, phone, and email are extremely important. Look for a service that has a useful library of video tutorials that are detailed and user-friendly. If you’re starting out and eager to learn, these can be an invaluable resource to help you develop your knowledge base and understand the possibilities offered by the services they provide. You also want a company with extraordinary customer service agents who are willing to go above and beyond to help you succeed. You should expect them to be highly responsive, sensitive and able to answer all your questions in a professional way. You can find more resources and information from the Carbon60 website.
