We help select & implement effective Cloud Computing solutions
Access to offsite systems and access to business systems from offsite have been widely used for over 15 years, but the term "Cloud Computing" has become well known due to recent innovations, marketing, and increased demand. There are many solutions available and they are usually sold as service subscriptions rather than perpetual software license purchases so if your business needs or wants a cloud solution then it's important to do an effective evaluation of those services and their costs.
Start your Cloud Computing Evaluation by considering:
- 1
- Some, or All Cloud-based Applications There are solutions that provide complete cloud-based desktop and shared data storage environments while many industry specific applications (eg. Quickbooks) are available as online subscriptions.
- 2
- Internet Connection Speed and Reliability For applications moved off your office network to the Cloud, the Internet connection becomes your life-line and must have the required capacity & reliability. You may even want to have a 2nd provider's connection as back up.
- 3
- Total Ongoing Costs Much of the marketing is focused on subscription price and often makes inaccurate presumptions about IT costs it can replace. A comprehensive evaluation should take into account what onsite support will still be needed.
- 4
- Data Security Where is the data, how it is backed up, and what are the host vendors policies for security & privacy. Do they run analytics on your data? Do they have industry compliance certifications for standards like HIPAA, FISMA, or PCI?