Thinking about a custom cloud solution? Ask a lot of questions

Joe Mikitish

We have all heard of cloud computing and it seems to be a perfect fit for business owners trying to squeeze more from shrinking budgets.  The question remains:  Will it really help every business as the marketing claims, or will many businesses suffer from buyer’s remorse?

In the cloud computing space, we often hear of all the big players who have a large product offering, but who do not offer custom solutions based on individual business need.  The focus has traditionally been the consumer market or big business, and it is has not been cost effective for these providers to build custom solutions for small businesses.  This has left a sizeable gap in the market, and the smaller cloud providers are quietly making a play for the custom cloud business.

Recently, I spoke with a business owner who had migrated to a large hosted Exchange cloud solution.  Little did they realize that the restrictions placed on the solution would hamper their ability to effectively service their clients.  After a number of downtime issues and frustrations, they finally found a custom cloud solution that would allow them to fully use their technology tools in the manner that fit their business.

What about my business?

If your business is using traditional computing, a hybrid, or are using cloud services – it is often worth the time to explore a custom cloud solution.  Businesses are used to choosing between large capital expense for a traditional network or an inadequate cloud offering.  With proper planning, the options can expand to meet needs properly without the huge capital expense.

What should I look for?

Small businesses should look at security, total cost of ownership, backups, stability and reputation of each cloud provider.  Additionally, on-going support should be a major deciding factor as local IT support may not be able to completely correct issues that are in the cloud.  Treat cloud solutions the same as any major purchase and ensure you have all the details up-front.  One of the major expenses is the conversion and migration.

Advice:

Start with writing down requirements in this manner: Need to have, Nice to have, and Do not want.  (Example:  Needs to have: unlimited growth potential. Nice to have: integration with outlook.  Do not want: mailbox size limits.)

Research local cloud providers.  It is nice to have local support as is often a more relationship driven approach with hands on support through the migration process and local providers often have in-person training options.

Check the reputation of each provider using the Better Business Bureau, searching for them on Google to get feedback, and checking their web presence and social media.  Additionally, ask for a number of references for clients that asked for similar solutions to the one you desire.  A good track record of success will be the key to your own successful project.

Implement a second internet connection.  With any cloud solution, the internet connection becomes critical and having a second, redundant connection will increase uptime and reduce the risk of work stoppage.

Ask for proof of liability insurance from your cloud provider.  Keep the proof on file and ask for an updated copy yearly.

Ask for independent backups to a third party.  Keeping a backup of your data to a third party can reduce risk and allow you to control your data.

Update your own insurance policy.  Often, your hardware footprint will be reduced by taking advantage of cloud solutions and the risk of disaster is greatly diminished.  Check with your insurance provider to see if a change of coverage is needed.

Donate old equipment.  There are a number of non-profit organizations (Computers for Kids, etc) that would love to take your old PCs and servers.

Joe Mikitish is the owner of SEN Technologies, an Idaho-based information technology management firm specializing in providing IT solutions and hardware to business clients.

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