The use of cloud technologies is fast rising in the modern-day business world. Both startups & small businesses and large corporations have incorporated the use of cloud into their business model. This has led to the fast rise and expansion of the cloud market. With a large number of cloud providers also increasing at a rapid rate, businesses now have a wide range of options to choose from.
The problem that businesses now face, especially the new startups, is finding the best cloud-based system or cloud solution for their business and this is becoming an increasingly challenging situation for them. The absence of one scheme or guide that can be used to assess the cloud providers and their offerings, the special features of each offering and provider, and the specific needs that different organizations have makes it very complicated to choose a cloud platform that is ideal for your business.
In order to help businesses, especially new businesses, to find and choose the cloud platform that is the most ideal for them, we have put together a number of basic criteria in our custom papers that each business have to consider for their cloud system.
The following are some of the criteria that you must consider when choosing a cloud platform.
Conditions for choosing a cloud platform:
The cloud market is currently very saturated, so, you can’t go for just anything. There are several factors that you must consider, and these factors are grouped into 3.
1. The needs of your business
This is inarguably the first thing that you have to put into consideration. Your business needs are extremely important since this cloud platform is meant to aid your business. There are certain points that you should consider:
- The sensitivity of the data that you store. There are different types of cloud platform and some are more suited to store very sensitive data. This is something that you should look to.
- The number of devices that will be connecting to your platform. You should look to your business size and your service scalability. You should also know that the more the number of people that are involved, the lesser the security of your data.
- The size of your budget. While you can get some services that are free, there are some others that are not free. Obviously, their features and level of security differ. Big businesses will require more expensive platforms, while smaller businesses will require less expensive ones.
2. Type of cloud
There are different types of cloud and the type that you choose will depend on the type of needs that you have. The following are the types of clouds with their pros and cons.
Public clouds: this type of cloud is better suited for storage of data that is not sensitive because it has shared infrastructure and also serves a number of customers at the same time. According to one essay writing service, this platform offers both a pay-per-use option and the free option. But is also the most vulnerable to hacking and breach of security.
Pros:
- This platform is flexible and scalable.
- It comes free or at a reasonable price.
- It does not require you to manage it by yourself.
Cons:
- Susceptible to cyber-attacks and security issues.
- There might be compliance issues with some industries such as finance.
Private clouds: this type of cloud is more suitable for storing data that is sensitive, such as in the healthcare industry. This platform serves a single customer with just a proprietary infrastructure. They are appropriate for unpredictable needs and changing business models.
Pros:
- It is very scalable.
- It offers very high security.
Cons:
- Your team can manage it.
- It is expensive as it requires additional payments for maintenance, staffing, cloud software, and virtualization.
Hybrid clouds: this type of cloud combines some of the best characteristics of both public and private cloud and it allows the company to use it to shift their workloads between both types of clouds. You can use the on-site private repository for storing data that are sensitive and the public cloud for data that are less sensitive. This type of cloud is suitable for workloads that are very changeable.
It is estimated that by 2021, the market for hybrid cloud will grow to $91 billion from the $33 billion marks in 2016.
Pros:
- It allows for maximum flexibility.
- Remote users and mobile users can easily access it.
- It enhances agility.
Cons:
- It has a complex infrastructure leading to more complex management.
- It is very expensive.
- You might have security issues with the public clouds.
Multi-clouds: From 2018, this type of cloud has been trending. This cloud allows the client to choose from a number of providers while using their environment and platform for various purposes in line with their system. This approach is very sound because using a single service may not be enough to meet the needs of your organization (especially for large organizations).
3. Cloud Features
The features of the cloud platform are something else that you have to consider when you are choosing your cloud platform. Once you know the type of cloud that you need and how it meets your business needs. Some features that you have to look out for are cost, security, support, compliance, service levels, architecture, and manageability.
All these criteria depend on themselves, so you have to carefully study the cloud solution you are considering in line with all these criteria.
If you have decided to jump unto the cloud bandwagon, according to a recent dissertation service, you should also know that there are different models of cloud systems that you can choose from depending on your business needs.
SaaS: SaaS means Software as a Service. It is a cloud computing system that uses a license-and-use model. It offers cloud-based applications, programs, and software. Users have access to applications and programs through a yearly, quarterly, monthly subscription fee. This model does not require any downloads and installations and it allows you to access different applications through an internet connection and a browser. This is the reason why SaaS is the default alternative to other traditional software installations.
IaaS: IaaS means Infrastructure as a Service. It provides a computing infrastructure that is ready to use such as networking resources, servers, and storage. This model uses VMs (Virtual Machines) to store software, applications, and databases instead of physical servers. So, there is no need to have and maintain server rooms for yourself. This vendor does not give you issues with support, maintenance, and infrastructure. Users can use any operating system that they like. You will also be able to scale your virtual machines anytime.
PaaS: PaaS means Platform as a Service. This cloud model gives you a platform to deploy, test, and develop various applications. This system, is, however, still very infant. PaaS has database server, operating server, and programming languages required to build cloud-based applications from the start and you can access it via a web browser.
Conclusion
The rise in popularity of cloud-based systems and their importance to businesses means that you should jump on this train as soon as possible.
With this guide, you can easily choose the best cloud-based system for your business.