How Reliable Is The Cloud Services Provider?

Generally, it isn’t the cloud itself which lets companies lower, it is the cloud provider, but could providers realistically guarantee zero downtime?

There has been several high-profile installments of ‘cloud failure’ in the last couple of years, that have done little to enforce public opinion of cloud reliability. However, what individuals frequently neglect to acknowledge is the fact that it isn’t the cloud that is hard to rely on, it is the cloud providers.

Such installments of cloud service failure shouldn’t deter individuals from using cloud services, but rather reinforce the necessity to employ the best provider. But with the proper provider, can zero downtime be guaranteed? Using the following key ingredients in position, there is no reason not.

Next-gen data centres

A cloud company ought to be making investments within the best, next-gen data center technology, to provide an uninterrupted service, which has the capacity to grow using the customer with time. Data center security should stick to best practice standards, ideally having a ISO 27001 certification, and provide round-the-clock monitoring and support. Data centres that offer anything less would be best prevented.

A proactively monitored network

All cloud services providers will claim that they can offer round-the-clock support, but regrettably not every delivers that advertise. It is important the core network is proactively monitored 24/7/365, to make sure unbroken use of data and applications when they are needed.

Resilient application platforms

Cloud applications, including voice, data and desktop ought to be highly resilient, while susceptible to round-the-clock support from maintenance teams. Platforms ought to be PCI-certified and ISO 27001 compliant, meeting the greatest standards in security and repair.

When these 3 elements combine, the likelihood of downtime are considerably reduced. If cloud providers apply these standards, making ongoing commitments to help improving their service, there actually is no excuse for downtime whatsoever.

It is easy for companies to obtain attracted into attractive searching SLAs (Service Level Contracts), which promise 99.999% uptime. However, frequently the company is not able to honor such assurances which puts its customers inside a compromising position.

There’s little which could make amends for the harm brought on by extended outages, which could potentially damage the status and credibility of the business, and price a lot of money in lost revenue.

So, the next time you learn about cloud failure, don’t assume it is the cloud the problem, because behind every hard to rely on cloud service, is definitely an hard to rely on cloud company.