07 April 2014 Posted by Paul Burns
We all see top 10 or even top 5 lists that try to summarize the most important considerations for choosing a public cloud service provider. Of course, these highly abbreviated lists are completely insufficient when you think about the massive breadth and variety of services available today. In fact, they only scratch the surface of what prospective cloud customers should consider.
After perusing many such online lists, here is a fairly representative list:
- Security
- Performance
- Reliability/availability
- Price
- Features
- Lock-in
- Service level agreement (SLA)
- Data centers
- Disaster planning
- Services
On the positive side, most of these 10 items are indeed very important selection criteria. However, like many of the top 10 lists you read, this list lacks important detail for each of the criteria. It also lacks breadth.
Here is an improved list of criteria that provides more depth (keeping in mind that the depth provided here is still insufficient for many selection scenarios, particularly when choosing a strategic cloud partner):
1. Security
a) Application & data securityb) Security related to multi-tenancyc) Physical securityd) User access managemente) Encryption key management
2. Performance
a) Overall performanceb) Average performancec) Consistency of performanced) Scalability of performancee) Performance guarantees (in SLA, if any)
3. Reliability/availability
a) Features for increasing service reliability (e.g. availability zones)b) Service provider track recordc) Availability commitment terms in SLAd) Incident response timee) Planned maintenance and upgrade downtime
4. Price
a) Relative to in-houseb) Relative to other public cloudsc) Price-to-performance ratiosd) Pricing options (on-demand, reserved, etc.)e) Hidden costs (or unexpected costs)f) Total cost
5. Features
a) Virtual serversb) Dedicated serversc) 3rd party add-ons and servicesd) APIse) Specialized hardware
6. Lock-in
a) Open APIsb) Compatibility with 3rd party servicesc) Integration capabilitiesd) Facilitated migratione) Unique / one-of-a-kind services
7. Service level agreements/contract
a) Comprehensive scope (e.g. performance, reliability, etc.)b) Well-defined termsc) Measurabled) Calculablee) Believable
8. Data centers
a) Locationb) Reachc) Geographic redundancyd) Local legislatione) International legislation
9. Disaster planning
a) Data center architecture redundancyb) Backup and failover services and optionsc) Time to recover down services (including track record!)d) Cloud architecture (disaster avoidance / preventive perspective)e) Location of alternate data centers with duplicate services
10. Services
a) Support servicesb) Managed servicesc) Professional servicesd) Recovery servicese) Service monitoring
As you can see, simply adding 5 or so sub-points to each of the initial 10 criteria adds a lot more depth. Depending on your requirements, you may actually need more than 5 sub-points, each of which may have sub-points of their own. You get the idea. Top 10 lists are not a great way to choose the best cloud.
As mentioned at the beginning of the blog, top 10 lists also tend to lack in breadth. Here are some more criteria and issues to consider – just keep in mind that each of these requires additional depth!
- Resource competition issues with multi-tenancy and shared infrastructure
- Network performance and latency
- Underlying hardware performance
- Options for flexible server configurations
- Options for network control and customization
- Cloud federation and/or interoperability
- Partner ecosystem, integrated offerings and services
- Suitability for running mission critical workloads
- Automation capabilities
- Analytics and reporting tools
- Tools for managing cloud sprawl and spending
- Unique, differentiating or breakthrough characteristics
- Hypervisor and operating system support
- Data accessibility
- Compatibility with legacy systems
- User interface and quality of experience
- Ease-of-use, level of expertise required
- Market focus and target users
- Environmental impact and efficiency
- Connectivity options
… and many, many more!
Having more breadth and depth in your selection criteria is helpful in choosing the right cloud provider. Of course the “best” answers to all these points also depend greatly on your specific needs and your unique application portfolio.
Do you need help selecting a cloud service provider? We can help! Our contact information is here.
]]>
Recent blog posts
- Revisiting the Benefits of SaaS
- Compliance Drives Buying Decisions in the Cloud
- Changing Competitive Dynamics for IaaS Providers
- Good News for Cloud Job Seekers in 2015
- Colocation: The New Center of Hybrid IT
- The Problem with Forced Cloud Reboots
- OnApp Federation Grows Stronger with SolusVM Acquisition
- HP to Acquire Eucalyptus: Questions, Comments and Concerns
- Is It Really ‘Game Over’ for Most IaaS Providers?
- The Big Cloud Winners Are…Not Just the Hyperscale Players