Cloud computing solutions present businesses of all sizes with tremendous opportunities for efficiency and cost savings. It’s no wonder that we seem to have hit a tipping point, where more cloud solutions than ever before are being implemented. Cisco estimates that cloud computing traffic will increase by a factor of 12 between now and 2015.
Still, it’s important to carefully consider your cloud solutions. Not all solutions are created equal. Here are five criteria you need to be considering:
- Cost of ownership. If a cloud solution doesn’t lower your TCO, you need to think twice about investing in it. Make sure you’re looking at the total cost comparison of an in-house versus cloud solution. A given cloud solution might require additional Internet bandwidth or infrastructure upgrades, while an in-house solution might require equipment, as well as personnel to manage the equipment.
- Reliability. When you turn data needs over to a provider, you need to be able to depend on them. Make sure your cloud solutions provider has a solid record in terms of uptime, and that their support staff are knowledgeable and available when you need them.
- Mobile access. One of the major benefits provided by cloud solutions is the ability to access them from multiple types of devices and in myriad locations. Verify that the solution is accessible via smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and any other Internet-capable device your organization might use.
- Scalability. Cloud solutions need to be able to expand with your growing business. As your needs increase, it should be as simple as a phone call to your provider to add capacity.
- Forward compatibility. One of the downsides to an in-house solution is that the solution is in many ways stuck in time. Unless you replace your server, you probably aren’t going to be able to make significant leaps forward. Cloud solutions should move forward at the pace of technology, keeping up with the latest innovations and making them available to you.
Choosing the right cloud solution for your organization means spending some time going through each of these criteria with potential providers, and then deciding which most suit your needs.
