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10 things to consider when looking at Cloud services.

Guest post by: Robert Rutherford

Article Overview: I was asked at a dinner the other night to give ten things to think about when looking at cloud services in general . I don't remember all my answers as it was late in the evening by that time.... However here are 10 quick points to consider :-

10 things to consider when looking at Cloud services.

1. In the future Cloud services will be the norm for software - in-house software will the exception.

2. If the solution doesn't interface with other vendors and solutions then think twice.

3. Know your exit from your cloud service provider before you go in.

4. Look for a solution that can be tailored to your exact needs - don't change your operations without good reason.

5. Because it's online don't feel you need to purchase online. If you want to see someone then make sure you do.

6. Know what the service providers business continuity plans are. What happens if their data centre suffers an extreme disaster?

7. If buying from an international provider then make sure their support is adequate in UK hours.

8. Cloud services are new to many service providers. Make sure your provider is proven and that their infrastructure and security is solid.

9. Don't expect your internet connection to always work. It's not unheard of to lose connectivity for a day or two so have protection in place.

10. Cloud isn't always the right solution. Make sure you are clear on all of the options and consider in-house and your own private cloud.

The above are obviously high-level and I could write an article on each. It's just food for thought....

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Article Tags: cloud services, hosted services, iaas, paas, saas, the cloud



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