How to Setup a Cloud Solution for Business Use

Setting up a cloud solution for business purposes can seem daunting to the novice; however, this can be simplified by following several steps.

• Firstly, determine the service level your business requires. This should be based on the nature of resource usage within the company structure. The resources sourced can be simple software services to more complicated full platform and infrastructure services. Analyze the architecture of your business, to determine which resources the business needs and how these resources are used. For example, a business that develops software might only need access to cloud server and infrastructure.

• Secondly, determine the intended resource expenditure on cloud solutions. Cloud solutions help a business to decrease operational costs. This is achieved because the model only charges for actual resource usage and the support personnel are provided by the vendor. Where a business seeks to optimize resource expenditure on information technology services then the solution sought should be comprehensive in service provision.

• Mix and match available solutions to get the best solution for your needs. Publicly available cloud solutions can decrease costs for the provision of services such as email messaging. A private cloud service, while providing high levels of customization, increases the cost of the final solution. This should be only used to preserve confidentiality of information and secure transactions. A private cloud service, while costlier, has the added advantage of providing the end user with complete control.

• Undertake research into the nature of the available cloud services. Before committing to any solution, the business must check all available solutions to determine which is best suited to their needs. The difficulty of the research process can be eased by employing cloud computing consultants. These consultants will undertake to inform and train you on the availability and implementation of cloud services.

• Ensure that the cloud solution you select is optimized for business function. This means that the solution should have managed hosting service. This has the advantage of placing the vendor’s expertise on technical matters at your disposal.

• Check to determine the service provision of the vendor. They must provide reliable, accessible, and available customer care service at the request.

• Next, read the cloud computing contract carefully in order to understand the terms and conditions of service.

• Lastly, contract the cloud computing provider and have them undertake the implementation of the solution within your company architecture. This should help your business to optimize on functionality and streamline your resource usage.