In the post-Covid world, an increasing number of businesses are relying on cloud services to support software, infrastructure (servers, storage, databases, networking), performance, flexibility, scalability, innovation, and cost efficiencies.

This is why they spend a significant amount of time considering which Cloud computing model and provider would do justice to the strategic vision of their business. To help you better understand the big picture, we did a deep-dive research into which Cloud model is suitable for your business and what factors you should consider when choosing the right Cloud Provider. 

Dive right in! 

Types of Cloud Computing Models 

To have a clear view of what Cloud Provider you should choose, you first need to understand what types of Cloud Computing Models there are on the market. There are four key categories of cloud services which include:

Infrastructure-as-a-Service 

The provisioning, ownership, and maintenance of virtual machines, servers, storage, networks, operating systems, and other resources to help companies build and manage their network infrastructure, operating systems, and data storage. Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure offer Infrastructure-as-a-Service. 

Platform-as-a-Service 

PaaS offers a platform for building, testing and managing software that includes databases, network, storage and servers. OpenShift and Google App Engine offer this kind of service. 

Serverless Computing 

Serverless computing helps manage infrastructure and services, including set-up, capacity and server maintenance. AWS Lambda, IBM OpenWhisk, Google App Engine, and Microsoft Azure Function offer this service. 

Software-as-a-Service 

SaaS implies that a software provider hosts and delivers software including its infrastructure to users over the Internet.

Benefits of Cloud Service Providers 

Security 

Cloud services are much more secure than a traditional in-house system allowing users to have peace of mind and not worry about security maintenance. 

Data loss prevention 

Cloud service provider is an ideal backup plan when it comes to protection from natural catastrophes and failures. 

Reliability 

Cloud provides 24/7 support to organizations thus providing them with reliability and a chance to outpace their competitors who have not yet migrated to the Cloud. 

Unlimited storage capacity 

While organizations can only buy a limited infrastructure on-premise, Cloud offers them the possibility to have unlimited storage while paying only for services they need. 

Quick deployment and development 

Cloud computing allows organizations to quickly move from design to development without having worries about delays. For instance, serverless cloud service providers and PaaS offer all of the development tools and services, including debugging and testing environments. 

Mobility 

Cloud computing offers a possibility to work seamlessly from anywhere, at any time which proved quite efficient and useful during and after the pandemic when most teams started working remotely. 

Reduced costs 

The fact that Cloud service providers charge organizations only on a pay-as-you-go basis is another important reason why companies keep moving to the Cloud. Organizations only pay for the services or bandwidth they need which allows them to save a significant amount of money and not waste it on hiring IT staff. 

Regular software updates 

Cloud service providers offer regular software and security updates allowing organizations to focus on other things that matter. 

How to Choose the Right Cloud Provider 

While there are many cloud service providers on the market, we can single out three top ones: Amazon Web Services (AWS) which accounts for 34% of the market for cloud infrastructure, Microsoft Azure, with a 21% market share, and Google Cloud, with an 11% market share.IBM Cloud also belongs to this list. 

With all the things mentioned above, here are a few things you need to consider before choosing the right cloud services provider:

Cost 

Cost is an important factor and should definitely be taken into account when choosing a provider. Make sure you consider the cost of use (pay-as-you-go, upfront) as well as volume discounts, types of billing, reservations on service, etc. 

Compliance 

Federal, state, and industry regulations also play an important role in choosing the right provider. Cloud providers should be able to provide answers about compliance with specific regulations. For instance, Cloud can be leveraged in Healthcare as long as its all parts are HIPPA compliant. GDPR requires data storage and processing within EU data centers and ISO requires a cloud provider to demonstrate certifications such as ISO 27018 and ISO 27001. 

Service Dependencies and Partnerships 

Before choosing the right service provider, you need to have a clear view of their relationship with a variety of vendors, tech capabilities, staff certifications, accreditation levels, etc. 

Data governance 

Cloud governance outlines controls and policies applied to cloud services in areas of security and privacy including cost usage which allows organizations to set a maximum spend for cloud use. 

Migration support, exit planning and vendor lock-in 

Vendor lock-in is a serious threat to organizations who opt for Cloud which is why they usually decide to use more than one cloud service provider. 

Architecture 

Make sure your chosen cloud provider can support your future and current needs and consider how the cloud architecture incorporates services or existing technology within the organization. Bear in mind that there are cost and technology synergies if you decide to stay with large cloud service providers such as Google, Amazon or Microsoft. 

Data Migration Support 

Do an in-depth analysis of cloud providers in terms of services it offers for migration. Most of the providers offer assessment tools to help you with migration. 

Sharing the same business goals 

The cloud service provider you choose must share the same operational, business and technical goals with you and your organization. 

Tools and features 

Each cloud provider will offer a different set of capabilities and features and a list of add-ons. Based on the Gartner report, Microsoft offers a broadest range of capabilities including SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. 

How Can Deployflow Help You on Your Cloud Transformation Journey?

While there are a variety of competitors on the market, Amazon Web Services seem to be leading in popularity and for a good reason. And this is where Deployflow’s tool-based framework and AWS cloud migration service come to the stage. Deployflow’s team of cloud DevOps engineers are well-equipped with the industry’s best practices and a number of AWS tools allowing them to build an efficient and winning strategy for your business.

The transition from on-premise to the Cloud is a challenging process which requires deep assessment of workloads and resources. Instead of investing much of your effort on doing this in-house, let us do the heavy-lifting by providing you with unique Cloud migration services that perfectly match your current and future business needs. 

To learn how we help you achieve success on your Cloud migration journey, feel free to reach us. Our team of experts are there to guide you on this journey, speed up your time to market and get ahead of the curve.