As promised in this week's blog, we have created a brief checklist to look at when choosing a cloud provider. Click the download button below to access our Cloud Provider Checklist!

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In order for the checklist to be most beneficial to you, we wanted to further expand on a component of the cloud should be considered while going through this checklist. This week we discussed whether we can rely on the cloud, considering cloud service outages that have recently made the news. When discussing the cloud, there are three main concepts that are important to understand: Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, and Software-as-a-Service.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offloads the responsibility of procurement and management of the hardware, power, cooling and internet of the data center to the cloud service provider. This means that cloud server resources can be treated like a consumption-based utility such as electricity or water. This type of cloud computing provides the highest degree of flexibility, configuration, and control over your cloud environment.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is a middle ground targeted at developers where the provider supplies a platform for development and delivery of custom solutions within the constraints of the platform. Well-known examples of PaaS are Salesforce.com’s Lightning Platform, previously known as force.com, Amazon’s Relational Database Service (RDS), and Microsoft’s Azure SQL.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is targeted at the consumer, where the provider handles all aspects of the service from infrastructure and platform through the application. Examples of SaaS are Microsoft Office 365, QuickBooks Online, Dropbox, WebEx, and GoToMeeting.

While reviewing the checklist, be sure to evaluate each type. The answer may be different, depending on whether you are considering IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS.

At The IT Company, we have years of experience with private, hybrid and public cloud offerings and we provide services and support that bridge the gap between small & medium sized business and cloud providers. We are happy to answer any questions you may have in regards to this checklist, to assist you in protecting your company.