On the opposite end of the spectrum to outsourced IT support is in house IT support. With in house IT support, your business will hire specific staff members to meet your technical needs. You will hire an individual or team of IT specialists to work on your business premises, adding them to your payroll and making them your responsibility. Therefore, if you have any issues with your IT systems, they will fix them.

For businesses, user authentication is an excellent way of ensuring that only specific employees can gain system access. Implementing MFA authentication methods will prevent security breaches, helping businesses to improve their internet security. 

Although those who use the internet and mobile apps for business and leisure will already have passwords, a password isn’t enough to protect personal data. Often, users may have similar passwords for all their accounts (which is highly frowned upon), making it even easier for hackers to perform a cyber attack successfully. 

Multi-factor authentication is an extra layer of security, improving the way general passwords and essential security measures perform independently. It is a simple way of adding an additional layer of protection whilst helping businesses manage online identity verification more easily. 

Before choosing a cloud provider, perform a full audit to determine the areas in which you need sufficient support. For instance, if your company operates on a hybrid work schedule, you’ll require a manageable communication platform with instant messaging, easy file sharing and video telecommunications. Similarly, you’ll want spreadsheet software for complex calculations and an expansive database management suite if you work with large quantities of data.

Scroll down to discover six factors to consider when choosing a cloud service provider:

1. Certification and Recognition

Suppose you’re trusting a large service provider to support your company’s applications, data management and cybersecurity. In that case, you’ll need to check it has the correct certification and complies with local and national standards.

Look for regulatory compliance set by trusted bodies like Standards Australia (SA), a member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

2. Security Software

Cloud security is imperative, as it’ll protect private company data and sensitive customer data. Many public cloud service providers feature built-in security frameworks to prevent unauthorised users from accessing your company’s confidential data. Look for security measures like:

• Cloud encryption: Look for symmetric encryption methods which use the same key type to access information, like a common password. Asymmetric encryption uses two different keys to retrieve data, such as multi-factor authentication using credentials like one-time passcodes and facial recognition.

• Information access policies: Align the cloud vendor’s data access policies with how internal IT professionals work. If you work with sensitive data, you’ll require a service provider who cannot access internal information.

• Data break policies: Your cloud service provider should provide strong cybersecurity to prevent malicious hackers or malware from infiltrating your system. A trustworthy cloud vendor will clearly outline the cybersecurity measures it takes.

3. Crisis Management and Disaster Recovery

Backup and disaster recovery reduce disruption to regular workflow and business processes. ‘Disaster’ is an umbrella term for anything that halts or alters standard workflow or how customers interact with a business. Here are some examples:

• Natural and environmental: Refers to flooding, fire and extreme heat.
• Digital: Refers to power outage, system or server failure and data loss.
• Security threats: Refers to cybersecurity attacks, data breaches and malware or computer viruses.

Look for a cloud service provider that aids with business continuity and disaster recovery. Various cloud service providers will offer desktop versions of workflow applications, allowing you to progress and save your work remotely when you’re without power.

Top Tip

Valuable features include auto-save features, data replication features to prevent total data loss, data restoration and downloadable desktop versions of software applications.

4. Total Costs and Contract Type

Cloud service providers often appeal to business owners, as centralising all computing resources with one cloud provider incurs excellent cost savings.

Although choosing the right cloud provider according to your budget is entirely subjective, here are a few valuable tips:

• Shortlist a few different cloud providers.
• Review all business packages on offer.
• Decide whether monthly or annual subscription services would best apply.
• Consider the scalability of your business. If you’re planning to grow, investing in a more advanced plan earlier on may reduce disruption later down the line.
• Check for free trials and cancellation periods. Some cloud providers disallow access to files stored in cloud platforms when you cancel a subscription.
• Ensure cloud service level agreements clearly outline exclusions, resolution policies and service level objectives (SLO).

Be bold and ask about the meaning of technical jargon throughout the contract to ensure your service level agreement is accurate. Review contractual governance to determine whether the cloud provider can change the contract’s terms. Acknowledge:

• Notice period on updates and modifications
• Notice of contract termination and cancellation
• Insurance policy
• Renewal policy

5. Vendor Lock and Exit Planning

Vendor lock in is a situation where it’s impractical for a business to exit a current contract with a cloud service provider because of excessive costs, migration time or disruption levels caused by switching. Exit planning is the migration of one system to another.

An example would be a business updating its cloud strategy and deciding to use another third-party offering better applications and data management. Unfortunately, the new service provider doesn’t support some application files the business currently uses. Consequently, migration becomes highly complex, introducing the threat of losing important data. Re-architecting the data would also cost a considerable amount, meaning the company is no longer in a healthy financial position.

Mitigate the risk of landing yourself in a vendor lock in by avoiding cloud services that use proprietary technologies, such as:

• Cloud management tools
• Cloud application programming interface (APIs)
• Custom or premium configuration
• Customised database services

6. Business Health and Reputation

Review your current relationship with your target audience to determine the right co. Although this consideration may not affect small businesses, medium-sized businesses may now have an extensive base of loyal customers. If this sounds like you, make sure you’re confident that migration will improve their user experience to sustain loyalty.

The right cloud service provider will streamline data management, store significant quantities of client data and give you more advanced cloud computing resources to create captivating client materials.

Here’s a closer look at the apps Microsoft 365 supports for businesses:

• Microsoft Word: Microsoft Word is a universal word processing software utilised to create basic and complex documents. Microsoft Word offers pre-made templates to create marketing materials, onboarding documents, reports and invitations, and way more. Users can also customise blank documents with text box, image and table insertion features.

• Microsoft Excel: Microsoft Excel is a leading spreadsheet application with innovative data insertion and visualisation tools. Excel organises numbers, supports formulas and displays calculations in graphs and charts. Businesses may use Excel for budgeting and statistical presentations.

• Microsoft PowerPoint: PowerPoint empowers users to create cutting-edge and visually appealing presentations. In recent years, feature updates have hosted numerous clean transitions, targeted themes and an intricate design hub with infinite formats, colour palettes and graphics. Presenters may display marketing stats, innovative ideas or sales pitches with PowerPoint.

• Microsoft Teams: This collaborative app supports video conferencing, audio calls and instant messaging, allowing professionals to communicate in real time. Microsoft Teams will enable users to send files and links to documents supported by other Microsoft Office applications like Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

• Microsoft Outlook: Outlook supports email messaging with file attachment functions. While it links to your own calendar, it’s also compatible with third-party scheduling services like Calendly and Zoom. Users can also rely on task management to prioritise responsibilities and set reminders.

• Microsoft Exchange: Businesses may use an Exchange server to host business or school email accounts. It’s a resource management network that allows people to centralise personal and professional emails under one application without email messages getting integrated with non-work-related communications.

• OneDrive: OneDrive storage is a cloud platform that holds any file professionals save. Teams can upload shared files, which various users can access from any remote location with an internet connection. People may use OneDrive as additional storage instead of storing extensive files on a computer’s internal hard drive.

• SharePoint: Businesses use SharePoint to build secure and accessible websites. Many organisations use SharePoint online to create an intranet where teams can upload and access document libraries, news, updates and other internal data. It’s essentially a cloud-based content and knowledge management application.

• Access: Access is a popular database management platform. Businesses use Access to store, analyse, present and track large quantities of data. It differs from Excel because Access specialises in data management, whereas Excel focuses more intently on complex formulas and calculations.

• Publisher: As the name suggests, Publisher allows businesses to create professional publications, like greeting cards, yearbooks, newsletters and posters, with powerful imagery. Publisher’s editing tools enable basic manipulation of text, graphics and layout. Insertion features allow users to implement advertisements, customisable shapes and calendars.

• Intune: Intune is an endpoint management platform hosted by the cloud. IT professionals use Intune to protect business data by regulating who can access and share specific data. Popular features also include control over updates to ensure each business device utilises up-to-date software.

• Azure Information Protection: Azure is a reliable security measure professionals use to categorise and protect specific documents. The labelling features apply rules to identify and protect sensitive data, such as customers’ baking details when transferred to another member. Azure enhances control over how email recipients use content and shares analysis tools that detect problematic behaviour.