5 Tips for Picking a Cloud Service for Your Business

Cloud connection services are important for your business, but picking a service isn’t always easy. Your business is complex and has many different needs, which makes choosing cloud connect services a challenge.

We’ve been there before, and we know just how hard the choice can be. To help you, we’ll share below 5 of our top tips for picking a cloud service for your business.

From considering private networks to capable cloud providers, these tips can help you make the right choices for your company’s needs.

1. Use a Private Network to Reduce Data Egress Fees

Using a private network to connect directly to your cloud services can help significant reduce your data egress fees, in addition to a number of other benefits.

If you aren’t familiar, data egress fees are charges from your cloud service provider for downloading information previously stored in the cloud. Depending on your business’s daily needs, you can rack up a hefty amount of data egress fees in a really short amount of time.

However, many of these fees only occur when they’re in connection to the public internet. With a private connection, you can avoid many of these associated data egress fees, which can save you a pretty penny each month.

Plus, direct cloud connections are much safer for your data since the public internet has many vulnerabilities to cyberattacks, so using a private network can help you in that regard too.

2. Use a Single Cloud Service Provider for Multi-Cloud Services

While you could technically use multiple cloud service providers (CSPs) at once, this type of setup can get confusing quickly. Every CSP has its own set rules for charging fees or implementing security measures, so using more than one can make your cloud system overly-complex.

We recommend using a single CSP for accessing multiple clouds. This helps simplify your cloud connectivity, so you can manage it without the headache. This also helps you streamline all your clouds, so you can easily connect each cloud to one another if desired.

This unified networking strategy also improves security, as you’ll have centralised control and enhanced visibility over your entire cloud connection system.

3. Don’t Forget Your Network Underlay and Infrastructure

When it comes to cloud connectivity, the cloud itself isn’t the only thing you need to worry about. Your network is an essential part of that process, and your cloud connection can go south quickly if you don’t pay attention to it.

Any cloud service you pick should take the quality of your network into consideration. Your network is the foundation for data transfer and cloud connectivity, and your infrastructure (data centres, cables, routers, etc.) determines how well it works.

You want a CSP that works with you to understand this infrastructure to provide you with the best possible cloud connectivity strategy. By understanding your business’s specific needs and applications, your CSP can recommend specific services that may be most beneficial to you.

Often, CSPs will recommend a combination of public and private cloud services to diversify your network, reducing congestion and latency on your network. This also gives you a more flexible network infrastructure, which can adjust to your needs at different levels over time.

4. Embrace Scalability and Flexibility

As a business, you’ll likely evolve a lot over time. One of the things to consider is how your changing business will impact your cloud connectivity needs.

You need to find cloud services that offer scalability and flexibility for your business.

Find a CSP that takes your business architecture into consideration, so they understand your data, workloads, and applications up front. This analysis will help them determine which services are best for you at that moment in time.

Then, work closely with your CSP to adjust the services you receive as your business continues to grow. You may need to take on a multi-cloud strategy, or redesign your network to become more optimised as your business changes over the years.

This flexibility and scalability keeps your company connected to the cloud services it needs so you don’t have to deal with lagging or downtime when you’re trying to serve customers. Make sure any CSP you choose is able to consider your future needs in addition to the ones you need in the moment.

5. Find a Secure and Capable Cloud Service Provider

Before choosing a CSP, you need to consider all your needs as a business. Your company is likely very complex, with big dreams down the line. If you pick a CSP that isn’t very capable, you likely won’t get too far with your cloud connectivity.

We recommend finding a CSP that offers security, scalability, and flexibility in their services.

Any reputable CSP has high-quality cloud security measures in place for any business using their connection services. Make sure that you’re pleased with the security services provided, and that they offer greater security than the regular public internet can provide you.

They also need to offer scalability, as you need a CSP that is able to future-proof your business. As your needs change, a great CSP will be able to adapt and offer you more services to fit your evolving needs.

Finally, make sure your CSP is flexible. Great CSPs will have a variety of services ranging between single-cloud and multi-cloud systems, so you can pick the exact services you need. If a CSP is limited in the services it provides, you may want to consider another that offers you more options.

Final Thoughts

Picking cloud services for your business can be tough, but it’s made easier using tips from experienced professionals.

Before choosing a cloud service, be sure to consider everything the cloud service provider offers, as you want to make sure any CSP you choose is scalable and flexible. You also want to consider all the ways in which your business could save money by choosing optimal services and maintaining a functional network underlay.

As long as you consider all these aspects, you’ll be able to choose the best cloud services for your business possible.