It’s 2014 and if you’re not cloud computing your business is falling behind. Businesses everywhere are moving to the cloud and enjoying the benefits. Moving to the cloud can be a great decision, but it’s important that you choose the right cloud provider for your business. Here we will give you some suggestions of questions you should ask your potential cloud providers before you sign a contract:
Is your data center safe?
Cloud computing providers host their servers in a data center. This means your data will be kept in that same data center, so it’s important to check with your cloud computing provider that their facility is a safe one. The last thing you want is to have a cloud computing provider that keeps their servers in a garage somewhere.
Check with your cloud server provider that their data center is designed to survive through natural disasters, fires, floods, earthquakes and storms. You should also make sure there are adequate security measures taken to keep your cloud servers safe.
Vault Networks is a certified SSAE 16 data center, which means our data centers are compliant with industry security standards. Our data centers takes security serious, which is why we have cameras, access cards, biometric scanners, and security guard surveillance, all ensuring the security of your cloud servers.
Does your company offer a firewall?
Firewall options are different for every provider. While some providers use built-in Windows and/or Linux firewalls, other providers offer individual virtual firewalls.
What are your disaster recovery procedures?
Cloud server providers need to be prepared for disaster scenarios. In order to ensure you are not putting your data in the wrong hands you should ask your provider what their disaster recovery procedures are.
Can you cloud resources be scaled up to meet the needs of my business?
You do not want to get stuck with a cloud server that isn’t flexible enough to fulfil the needs of your business. Ask your provider whether they have the resources, processing power, and bandwidth you need, if they can scale up when necessary. Also, you should ask whether they allow you to pay for what you use or if you need to sign a new contract whenever you increase resources.
Vault Networks offers vnCloud as their cloud computing platform and this can be scaled up or down on demand as needed in just minutes. You can be sure that you will have the resources needed for your busy season and will be able to scale down instead of wasting money during slow seasons.
What is your pricing structure?
When it comes to cloud computing, you should only be paying for what you use. That’s one of the reasons cloud became so popular so quickly. You should inquire with your cloud computing provider whether they charge hourly, monthly, semi-annually or annually. You should also ask if they charge a set price or if they charge for the resources you are currently using.
Vault Networks charges customers monthly for the resources they use. Because of this, whenever users make changes their bills will reflect these changes.
What customer support services do you offer?
By moving to the cloud you want to make sure your cloud server provider will provide you with the customer support you need when you need it. As a business you want your cloud server up and running every day of the year, this means it’s important that your cloud server provider is able to provide customer support 24/7, including holidays.
Vault Networks has an expert staff on hand all day, every day, even during the holidays. Our customers can be confident that even during times where most businesses close down; we are here to ensure your cloud servers are always running effectively.
What is your downtime history?
Most businesses cannot afford any downtime, which is why you should check with your cloud server provider to see what type of downtime they have experienced in the past.
Vault Networks has one of the best SLAs in the industry, providing virtually 100% uptime for cloud servers. You can be sure that your business will be up and running, no matter what.
To find out more about our vnCloud please email Sales@VaultNetworks.com or call us at (305)735-8098, option 2.