Companies that have migrated to a public cloud service or have converted their infrastructure to a hybrid infrastructure over the last few years have seen huge benefits in terms of cost and efficiency. More and more organizations are realizing the importance of moving to the cloud in a planned and consistent way to stay competitive, rather than taking reactionary and hurried measures to meet their IT needs. Most successful companies understood the importance of the cloud for maximizing their efficiency and operational accuracy. Especially in the post-pandemic world, global spending on public cloud services is predicted to grow by 18.4% in 2021.

With that being said, it’s not too late for you to migrate to the cloud or build a hybrid infrastructure to accelerate digital transformation. Adopting cloud computing or scaling up your existing cloud deployments is as much a business strategy as it is an IT strategy since you’re investing in future-ready infrastructure that supports more complex business processes and drives revenue generation. Hence, it is extremely important to choose the right cloud service and managed services provider who understands your business needs and growth objectives.

What are Public Cloud Services?

Public cloud services refer to the on-demand computing and storage infrastructure and services that are owned, operated, and maintained by a third-party service provider and provided to enterprises over the public internet. It allows businesses to host their enterprise solutions, and store and distribute data using their servers and storage systems on the hardware owned by the service provider. This shared infrastructure is hosted on the public cloud and shared by multiple organizations. Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure are the most popular examples of public cloud services.

Enterprises use public cloud services for web-based email hosting, online office applications, storage, and as a testing platform for company software. It is an especially valuable technology for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) due to its numerous benefits, such as;

It is cost-effective as it doesn’t require the purchase of independent hardware and software

You pay only for the services you use

The service provider undertakes regular maintenance, so no need to hire an in-house team or expert

Unlimited scalability to meet your everyday business needs as well as planned and unplanned workloads

Minimum lags and failures due to a vast network of servers

Why do you need a Managed Cloud Services Provider?

Enterprises can simplify their cloud computing initiatives and ensure outcome-driven implementation by hiring an experienced managed services provider that can customize and manage your end-to-end cloud infrastructure. Having the right cloud partner takes a significant burden off of the company’s shoulders, enabling them to deploy, test, and maintain a comprehensive cloud system that generates maximum returns while augmenting core functions.

6 Key factors in selecting the right partner to manage your cloud

Now, let’s take a look at some of the key qualities of an ideal managed services provider for your business. Keep in mind that every business has different reasons to deploy a cloud system. This guide will help you match your cloud requirements with your prospective vendor.

1. Business knowledge and technical expertise

First of all, an ideal third-party cloud service provider must be thoroughly knowledgeable of the enterprise’s various requirements to provide the right combination of cloud solutions. Depending on your individual business needs, it should also provide you with crucial cloud computing insights and the latest trends that’ll help you gain a competitive edge.

2. Seamless deployment and continuous maintenance

Your third-party cloud service provider must have a dedicated team to undertake the deployment of your cloud systems quickly and seamlessly. The cloud infrastructure you get should also allow frequent upgrades of enterprise software and applications with easy management and maintenance.

The faster your cloud system gets deployed and upgraded, the faster you can overcome your enterprise challenges and competitors. A reliable third-party vendor should undertake every cloud-related aspect for maximum results.

3. Secure infrastructure and policies with data protection and backup

A comprehensive security infrastructure is the most crucial aspect of an ideal cloud service provider. It should have a secure authentication system and protocols in place so that only authorized persons can make changes. The system also logs and reports these changes to track them effectively and take corrective actions in the event of errors. The security policies should adhere to the enterprise standards with comprehensive data retention and backup features to keep business operations running without interruptions.

4. Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Your third-party cloud vendor should be able to assure every basic service for the cloud operations that your organization needs for uninterrupted functionality. Most of the enterprises take this crucial point for granted, however, this factor differentiates premium cloud service providers from others. What is especially more important with SLAs with your managed service provider is to ensure that they will unfailingly follow through on each aspect of the SLA within the stipulated time and budget.

5. Organization, planning, and risk assessment

The inner workings of your cloud infrastructure must be highly organized, with adequate planning and precautions for identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks. Your managed service provider should plan and share reports and analyses of risks to the organization’s IT heads and management on a regular basis with prescriptions and strategies to address them effectively.

If a vendor has first-hand experience in providing cloud services to a company similar to yours, it should be your first preference as it saves you significant time in communicating the requirements of your business niche and planning accordingly. And most importantly, the cloud service provider must establish sound risk-management policies to differentiate from its competitors.

6. Trust

Last, but certainly not the least, the Managed Cloud Services Provider must operate on a foundation of industrial ethics and legal, operating guidelines. Check the vendor’s reputation and achievements by observing the performances of their existing clients and their testimonies. Communicate with your peer businesses with similar cloud requirements to gauge the vendor’s quality of services.

Partner with ZeaCloud® to leverage the power of cloud for business growth

Having the right public Managed Cloud Services Provider by your side will give your business a significant competitive edge in the new normal that will undoubtedly favor companies that are able to leverage the digital and cloud boom. We hope the points mentioned above will help you find the most suitable cloud computing service vendor for your unique business needs.

We can say with absolute confidence that your search for the right cloud partner ends here. ZeaCloud® provides the most cost-effective and result-driven cloud solutions that cater to a wide range of industries and are designed to match your business profile.

For industries getting started with the cloud, we provide 360-degree cloud solutions with result-driven insights and strategies. For companies with an existing cloud infrastructure, we work as your cloud maintenance and development consultant with over multi-decade experience as digital practitioners.

Reach out to us today to get your cloud journey started the right way.

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