Top Tips for Evaluating Your Current Cloud Service Provider
By
William Noble
Even if you’re happy with your current cloud service provider, it’s a good idea to take a look at the company fulfilling your cloud computing needs every so often. Performing a few basic checks can help you be sure that your provider is able to deliver the security and reliability you need.
Does Your Provider Keep Up With The Latest Security Standards?
Cyber criminals are constantly developing new ways to attack cloud servers and steal data. As a result, the industry is constantly developing new security standards to combat the latest threats. Check that your cloud computing provider complies with the SSAE 16 standard, which requires organizations to perform regular security audits and report all breaches.
Does Your Cloud Provider Offer Private Cloud Infrastructure?
Your cloud provider should give you the option of storing your most sensitive data on a private cloud. Whereas a public cloud service involves sharing server resources with other customers (which could open your data up to attack if the companies you share the space with are lax about security), a private cloud keeps your data locked away on its own dedicated server.
Does Your Cloud Provider Meet Government Compliance Standards?
If your company processes or stores credit card information, you are legally obliged to meet PCI (Payment Card Industry) security standards. Similarly, all organizations that handle healthcare data must comply with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which lays down standards for the storage of sensitive health data. Your hosting provider must be able to demonstrate compliance with these industry regulations, as breaching them could lead to fines and reputational damage for your organization.
Does Your Cloud Provider Have the Right Technical Experts on Board?
All cloud providers must have the right in-house technical expertise to manage their servers and provide technical support to their customers. For example, if your cloud provider uses AS400 servers to store data, they must have an AS400 expert to manage the servers and keep the data safe. Consider making a call to the provider’s technical support helpline to check that support staff are able to provide the expertise you need.
Does Your Cloud Provider Meet Key Performance Indicators?
Every so often, it’s a good idea to check your cloud’s vCPU performance, disk performance and internal network performance. These metrics provide a measure of the speed at which data can be retrieved from the cloud server. Ask your provider to provide this information every so often so you can see whether the performance is improving over time. When you’ve been with the same cloud provider for a long time, it’s easy to become complacent.
Every so often, it’s a good idea to evaluate the performance of your current cloud provider to see whether you’re still getting the great service that you expect. Consider performing these checks once a year to ensure that your data is securely and reliably stored in the cloud.
William Noble is a geek at heart who loves the world of technology. Working in cloud computing with a programming background he likes to write informative articles to help people.
