Is your business ready to hit the next level? As your data needs grow, and as you start adding more components to your business and your presence on the web, you need to have a solution that really works well for you. Working with cloud hosting companies can provide your business with quite a few benefits.
Reasons Your Business Needs Cloud Hosting
When you are running a business, you want to save time and money whenever you are able to. Cloud computing offers a reduction in costs since it reduces the amount of physical hardware you will need. In turn, this reduces the number of IT personnel that you will need. The IT professionals that you do have will be able to take care of their other duties rather than worrying about maintaining an onsite server. This results in more efficiency and lower costs.
When your server is hosted in the cloud, it means that those who need to access files on the server will be able to do so from just about anywhere, as long as they have a connection to the web and they are allowed to access the files. This means that the files are no longer on just a single computer. In addition to the easy access, it reduces the risk of lost and missing files. Those who are working on a cloud system will also find that collaboration is much easier.
Even with all of these benefits though, you have to be very choosy when it comes to finding the best cloud hosting solution for your business. The following are some of the things that you need to look for, as well as some of the best options for your company.
What Should the Host Company Offer?
Finding the right cloud hosting solution for your business can be difficult unless you know what you should be looking for. One of the first things that you need to consider is the hardware that they offer. You want to make sure that the provider can offer quality hardware that’s reliable, and that meets the technical specs a company of your size requires. In addition, it’s important to speak with the host about the scalability options of the services they offer. Your site may be growing quickly, and you need to have the ability to meet your peaks as needed.
Two of the most important things about the company, and your server, are compliance and security. If you are in a business that receives regular audits, or if you need to have special considerations for HIPAA, for example, then ensuring their servers are compliant is vital. With the amount of risks and data breaches that are in the news today, it is essential to have great security. Along with security, talk with the company about their disaster planning solutions. What happens if a server goes down? Are you sure that they have backups of your data to ensure that your company’s site and information are always available? In addition, you want to know that you have easy access to customer support and technical support if you have issues or questions with the server.
Make sure that you read your service agreement thoroughly so you know exactly what you are getting and what you are paying. If you have questions about the agreement, you need to make sure that you bring those up before you sign anything. Also, check their uptime agreement. You should always work with a cloud hosting solution that is able to guarantee 99% or greater uptime.
Finally, you will want to know about the costs of the service. The solutions that we provide below are all very cost effective. In fact, they often compete with one another over having the best prices for their customers, so you can be sure that you are getting a good deal. Some companies will offer a free trial. It’s a good idea to go through the trial and check out the features and service to make sure it is up to par for you.
The three solutions that follow are some of the best and most trusted options on the market today. They are able to meet and exceed most expectations, and they offer everything that we mentioned a good host should provide. They work well for businesses of all sizes too, from enterprise level all the way down to small businesses. Still, read more about each of them and then choose the one that makes the most sense for you.
Solution #1: Microsoft Azure
The Microsoft brand is synonymous with computers, so it is no wonder that they have one of the very best solutions when it comes to cloud hosting. This high quality service has a lot of complexity to it. Even though it does offer so many features and options, it is still very simple and intuitive to use. It even offers a wizard setup for the system, making it one of the easiest to start using and to understand for those who know very little about the world of cloud computing and setting up servers. As with other hosting providers, the cost of the service can vary greatly depending on your company’s individual needs.
Solution #2: Amazon EC2
Amazon is another big name when it comes to the Internet, and they have been offering a number of high quality services through their Amazon Web Services cloud platform. It is priced similarly to Azure, and it is highly flexible so you can create nearly anything that your business might need, such as a web store. While it offers many features, this is actually one of the problems that some people have with it. It is not quite as easy to understand and to get started as it is with Azure. It has a much higher learning curve. However, those who have the time, inclination, or staff to handle it will find that it is a powerful option.
Solution #3: Rackspace Cloud Servers
Rackspace Cloud Servers, which are a part of their Open Stack cloud platform, are another option that could work well for some businesses. This option doesn’t offer quite the same amount of polish as the other platforms do, and tends to be a bit more difficult to use as well. However, they have great customer support, and the pricing is competitive with the other options out there. Once you get used to the platform, it becomes much easier to use, and you will appreciate the flexibility.
Which One Will You Choose?
Are these the only solutions for cloud hosting that you should consider? Not by a long shot. However, these are ones that are the best known and that tend to have the most robust set of features. Take your time to look at what each of the above solutions offers, but don’t feel limited to just these three options. Whether your business is large or small, you can find the solution that works best for you.