How to Get It Right the First Time
Choosing a service provider to host your company’s mission-critical applications can be an intimidating task, especially with the stakes so high. Whether your organization is expanding quickly and needs to focus its IT resources on strategic initiatives or launching a new product that demands 24/7 uptime, making the right decision on a hosted service provider is crucial.
In this white paper, we’ll address the three key areas you must focus on to make an informed and effective decision. These are: understanding what you need, evaluating what service providers offer, and ensuring they can deliver on their promises. This guide will help you navigate the complexities involved in selecting the right partner, so you can focus on growing your business without worrying about downtime or service failures.
Understanding Your Needs
Before evaluating any hosting provider, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of your own business requirements. The temptation might be to focus only on technical specifications like server capacity, bandwidth, and uptime guarantees. However, a comprehensive approach will ensure the provider is aligned with your broader business goals.
First, ask yourself: What are the strategic priorities of your organization? For example, if your company is growing rapidly, your infrastructure must scale with that growth. Consider how much flexibility your provider can offer when it comes to expanding capacity. If your IT team is focused on supporting business-critical applications, will the provider free them up from routine tasks like patch management or system monitoring?
Security and compliance should also be top considerations. Is your industry highly regulated, like finance or healthcare? If so, you’ll want a provider that can meet compliance requirements and provide regular reporting to demonstrate that compliance. Understanding these needs will ensure that you select a provider with the capability to protect sensitive data and help you meet regulatory obligations.
Evaluating Service Providers
Once you’ve outlined your needs, it’s time to look at what service providers offer. This step can often be the most challenging, as providers frequently use similar language in their marketing materials, making it difficult to differentiate between them. However, digging deeper into their offerings is essential to avoid making the wrong decision.
For instance, many providers claim to offer “managed services,” but the scope of these services can vary significantly. Some may provide little more than basic server monitoring, while others offer proactive management that handles day-to-day tasks such as applying security patches or updating software. Make sure to clarify exactly what level of service you’ll receive.
It’s also essential to look closely at uptime guarantees. Providers often boast about their “99.99% uptime” or “redundant infrastructure,” but what do these guarantees really cover? Do they only apply to the provider’s network, or do they also extend to your applications and data? Be sure to ask about the specifics of these claims and request concrete examples of how they deliver on their promises.
One key document to examine is the service-level agreement (SLA). An SLA outlines the provider’s responsibilities and what happens if they fail to meet those obligations. Make sure you understand the response times for outages and what compensation is available if the provider doesn’t meet the agreed-upon standards. The SLA should be clear and transparent about how they handle issues and restore services.
Ensuring Delivery and Support
Finally, once you’ve narrowed down potential providers, the next step is ensuring they can deliver on their promises. A provider may look great on paper, but real-world performance is what counts. The first step is to look at their track record. How long have they been in business? Do they have experience in your specific industry or with applications similar to yours? Asking for references from existing customers can provide insight into how they operate and whether they can meet your expectations.
Another critical consideration is their operational processes. Providers with strong change management processes will have lower rates of human error, which is one of the leading causes of IT outages. Ask how they manage changes, apply updates, and handle unforeseen incidents. A provider with a formalized change management process is much more likely to keep your systems running smoothly.
Security should also be a primary concern. The provider should be able to demonstrate how they handle security at all levels, including their own infrastructure and your applications and data. Look for providers that offer robust security features like encryption, multi-factor authentication, and regular security audits. Be sure to ask how they stay current on the latest threats and ensure that your environment is protected.
Lastly, customer support is a crucial component of any managed services agreement. Even the best providers will face issues from time to time, so understanding their support processes is critical. How quickly do they respond to issues? Do they offer 24/7 support? What are the escalation procedures if things go wrong? The quality of their support team can make a significant difference in how quickly problems are resolved and how much downtime you experience.
Conclusion
Choosing the right hosting provider for your company’s mission-critical applications requires careful consideration of your needs, a thorough evaluation of service offerings, and a detailed look at how the provider delivers and supports their services. By focusing on these key areas, you can make an informed decision that ensures long-term success for your organization.