The advent and proliferation of internet globally have given rise to a flourishing business of hosting services. One of the most popular of such service is the managed cloud hosting services, which is being offered by a multitude of companies worldwide. India is a growth hub for e-commerce and internet related business. All companies seek a presence on the web, and this leads to a growing requirement of internet based web hosting. So be it a simple static website with only information pages, or an e-commerce website with a plethora of products to showcase, the need for a stable cloud (Internet) based hosting servers and service provider will always be there.
Choosing a Hosting Service
Nowadays, there is a wide choice and variety of providers available to choose a good cloud hosting service. The following 5 things can be taken into account before choosing a service provider. The following criteria can help in choosing the best of them all:
- Ascertain what data needs to be stored in the cloud: Cloud varieties are of three kinds: public, private and hybrid. The cloud environment you seek depends on the type of data that needs to be stored. If you are looking for a backup solution for a seldom-used and non-confidential data, a public cloud may be a good option to seek.
Cloud environment requirements keep changing from time to time. Always neon your toes to get the best for your business needs.
- Scrutinize the security measures undertaken: All business seek a good measure of preserving data. Business critical data needs appropriate security measures. Take proper care and time to identify some critical features within a service provider. The following questions can help:
- Does the service provider have a 24/7 security monitoring and response system available – including an onsite team?
- Does access to the data center require multi-factor authentications? i.e. does the service provider use time-tested authentication systems?
- Is there an intrusion detection system in place?
- Does the managed cloud hosting service provider use proper encryption techniques and tools for data storage and retrieval?
- Scrutinize compliance with international standards: Most managed service providers today are compliant with HIPAA, SOX, and PCI DSS standards. A good hosting service provider would have designed its services around these global standards and have an in-house staff to manage these regulatory standards. They would also advise the hosted clients on the implementation of these standards from time to time.
- Measure ability and availability of Managed Cloud Hosting service provider: Business-critical data needs to be readily available and secure at all times. Availability of such data and the speed at which they are extracted from the system depends on a lot of the ability of the hosting provider’s storage systems. Having a primary and secondary backup, providing redundancy and failure measures are some of the important criteria to measure the ability and availability of the services being offered by the cloud hosting provider.
- Monitor Service Level Agreements: You must review the SLAs carefully to understand acceptable levels of the service and hosting plan for which you have signed up. You must be aware of all commitments given by the managed cloud hosting provider such as outages, downtime, security provisions, backup plans, regulatory arrangements et cetera.
Cloud Hosting India is Crowded
New services providers are jumping into the hosting space on a regular basis. Rather than just choosing a software or hardware you should opt for someone who provides overall administration system for the hosting system. One should review the security, cost-effectiveness and value addition provided by the service provider before making a decision to hire or engage.
