Putting cloud providers under the microscope
By Graham McLean CI-Net Managing Director
Many business people have now accepted the cost and flexibility advantages of adopting Cloud-based applications. At CI-Net we estimate that businesses can cut software costs by at least 30% by moving to the Cloud.
But there continues to be a debate about whether you should feel at ease with moving important business data and applications into a remote Cloud data centre that is run by someone else. So it’s important to put any Cloud supplier’s infrastructure and processes under the microscope ahead of transferring your application(s).
Quality of hosting locations
To kick the process off you should first consider the quality of the provider’s hosting locations. Are they sophisticated Tier 3 or Tier 4 data centres? Are they manned 24-7 by security personnel and do they have advanced fire suppression systems, as well as multiple power feeds from separate sources?
To protect against connectivity problems affecting service delivery, a provider’s data centre should incorporate multiple comms links from separate suppliers, including automatic failover facilities. (Customers themselves should consider using multiple links into the ‘Cloud’ at their own sites if they will be accessing business systems this way).
If a supplier ticks the above boxes, this should give you some initial confidence. The next thing to look at is security. What systems and processes should a provider have in place to keep data safe from prying eyes?
They will be using separate servers or virtual servers for each customer with industry recognised firewalls creating a boundary around individual customer’s data. The whole system should be designed to protect against malicious attacks and it’s important that processes are in place to eliminate the chance of data from one customer getting ‘mixed up’ with others.
Certified security professionals
You should check that the provider is employing certified security professionals who understand the responsibilities involved with securing IT infrastructures, including protecting against human error.
To avoid mistakes, providers should demonstrate tight policies surrounding how they handle customer requests for allocating new end users to applications. Looking at this type of detail will give you an overall feeling for how disciplined a supplier is.
Obviously your Cloud provider is going to be responsible for managing the applications and the delivery environment, but you as the customer should be able to specify whether or not you want their employees to have access rights to your company data. You should be able to specify that only your own staff can cover maintenance or support tasks that require working directly with your data.
Backup and disaster recovery
Disaster recovery facilities will be a key concern. The provider should be backing up your data daily at least, with the option that you can ask to have it done more frequently. For security purposes backups that are stored at remote sites should be encrypted in transit and held in an encrypted state at the second location. Be sure to check the SLAs (service level agreements) to confirm how quickly a supplier will commit to performing data restores.
Likewise, you should understand the provider’s business continuity plans in the unlikely event that the primary hosting site is hit by a major disaster. Do they have a clear strategy and the necessary systems for quickly redeploying customers’ environments and data to a contingency site? The number of new companies hitching onto the Cloud bandwagon means it’s a good idea to be extra rigorous when evaluating providers – it is likely that, in the early years at least, standards will vary. Over time increased competition will mean that quality will standardise and unscrupulous Cloud providers will be weeded out. In the short term your business can still benefit from the advantages of the Cloud. As long as you do your homework by conducting a thorough evaluation of any potential Cloud provider.
Click here to request more information on CI-Net's 'Cloud' Computing or call our Sales Team on 01865 856030.
