Businesses are adopting cloud technologies at a breakneck pace. According to statistics, 94% of businesses are already using cloud technologies.

Cloud infrastructure can benefit your startup in multiple ways, from reducing your operating costs to managing your infrastructure more efficiently. Instead of building on-site data centers, your IT services (software, intelligence, servers, databases) will be managed over the internet. Migration to the cloud is also flexible: you pay for what you use and you can scale as your business needs change.

However, with so many cloud service providers out there, how do you know which one to choose for your startup? Here are some simple criteria to consider.

Types of clouds

As you begin to learn more about cloud infrastructure, you'll notice that there are many different classifications of cloud services. To start, you need to understand what each one means.

Private, public and hybrid

First of all, cloud technologies can be divided into three categories: private, public and hybrid, based on their deployment.

  • A private cloud is used only by your company. You can either keep it in-house or outsource it to a third-party cloud provider.
  • Public cloud solutions are delivered over the Internet and all cloud resources are owned and controlled by a third-party provider.
  • Hybrid clouds combine features of both public and private clouds.

IaaS vs. SaaS vs. PaaS

Based on the cloud technology model, cloud services can be divided into three categories: Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service and Software as a Service.

IaaS allows you to retain full control of your applications and data, while only paying for what you use. These services are often provided by private cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Google Compute Engine or Microsoft Azure. Their main benefit is flexibility, as they allow you to scale the cloud infrastructure up or down based on your current needs.

PaaS is often used by developers, as it provides them with the servers, software development tools and databases they need to build, test and implement applications.

SaaS is perfect for businesses of all shapes and sizes. When you invest in SaaS, a vendor is responsible for managing and maintaining the hardware and software components, saving you money on IT staff and allowing your business to grow faster.

Implementing the cloud

Each of the cloud models mentioned above has certain advantages and disadvantages. That's why you need to consider different options and choose the right one for your startup.

When choosing a public cloud provider, invest in an option that will easily integrate with your existing workflows. For example, if your startup is already using Microsoft, why not opt to enable the Azure cloud? If, on the other hand, you rely more on Amazon or Google's services, it makes sense to invest in their cloud services.

Security

Data security remains one of the top concerns for companies adopting cloud technologies. According to the 2019 Cloud Security Report, 28 percent of companies experienced a cloud security incident in 2019. The most common type of cloud security issue businesses face is data exposure, followed by malware infections and compromised accounts. If you're wondering what malware is, it's malicious software that causes disruption and damage when it gains unauthorized access to your computer system.

So it's no surprise that businesses still have many online security issues when investing in the cloud. According to the Cloud Security Report, some of these concerns include:

  • Data loss and leakage
  • Data privacy
  • Legal and regulatory compliance
  • Accidental exposure of credentials
  • Data control
  • Incident response

Before investing in cloud infrastructure, you need to know what your primary security goals and threats are. Then, analyze each vendor and pay attention to criteria, such as security policies, security infrastructure, data backup and retention, and physical security.

You need to understand the security features a cloud provider offers for free and the additional services you can invest in to enhance data security. Major cloud providers such as Google, Azure, or AWS list their security features, integrations, and paid products so users can easily know what to expect and how to adjust their plans to improve data security.

Industry Compliance

The next step is to make sure the cloud provider you choose allows you to meet compliance standards. There are many local, national and international standards that you must comply with when migrating your data to the cloud. Fortunately, cloud service providers now provide detailed guidelines and are constantly working to improve compliance.

Before you invest in the cloud service provider, you should first know what regulatory policies and procedures your startup must follow and whether a cloud architecture platform allows you to meet these compliance standards. Most importantly, you need to know how to ensure compliance once you migrate to the cloud and understand what your responsibilities are in that scenario.

Some of the most common regulatory requirements include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), SOC 2, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).

Performance and Administrative Support

There are many ways to measure the reliability of cloud providers. For starters, you can measure the cloud provider's performance and compare it to their service level agreements for a few months. It's important to understand that no matter how reliable a cloud provider is, downtime can happen to anyone. What matters is how professionally the cloud service provider handles it.

When choosing a cloud service provider, go for a transparent and authoritative provider. Here's what you should require from them:

A documented disaster recovery and business continuity plan. It should include data sources, scheduling, backups, integrity checks, etc.
Service level agreements (SLAs) typically consist of service level objectives, remediation policies and exclusions. Their purpose is to strengthen your relationship with a cloud service provider and provide you with tailored service solutions.
Performance reports - a cloud service provider should send you detailed performance reports to help you understand where you stand.