A Cloud Hosting environment is as good as a Cloud Hosting service provider. More so, if you are opting for a managed hosting service. After all, you are investing a good amount of your tech budget on website maintenance and management. Before you close the deal with your service provider, there are a few questions you need answers to. So you are assured of quality service, leading to a performance-driven site.
(Top 5) Key Questions to Ask your Prospective Service Provider
What is the Level of Security that you will Provide?
The security measures provided by a hosting service largely drive the decision to choose them. Ask about all possible security solutions and if there have been any instances of security issues with other users. While asking about security, also remember to ask about the safety standard of data centres. Check for physical protection of the centre and that they have verified personnel in charge.
Where is the Data Center Located?
With your site being hosted on multiple servers, your tech team does not need to be on-site all the time, except for exigent situations, or regular visits. Hence most data centres are located remotely from the site of the business. However, since it is away from your daily access, it is important to ensure that the centre itself is well-facilitated. Check with your service provider if the place where the data centre is located is prone to any vulnerability.
How Flexible are your Services?
One of the top advantages of Cloud Hosting is its ability to scale up the resources in the hour of need. For example, in times of traffic surges, your site would need to double up the storage capacity or add more hardware for fast and smooth running. When availing of hosting service, check with your service provider if they have the capacity to fulfil such needs on an urgent basis. Otherwise, the deal might not turn out to be profitable when the need arises.
Who will be able to access my Data?
This is one of the most essential things to know. With your team (and you) sitting remotely, all your site resources are going to be handled by the service provider and their tech professionals. In that case, what kind of professionals will have access to the servers? Will the host share all security information with my tech team? As an add-on, you can set your own access rules with your service provider if they allow it.
What kind of Support can I Expect from your Team?
Since you are delegating the technical responsibility to the host, you can also expect the right amount of support whenever needed. Ask them if they offer end-to-end migration assistance. Do they have free migration services as a part of the plan? Do they also conduct third-party audits? It is better to have a hosting provider who offers these and tech support round the clock.
To Sum up
Without a doubt, hosting your site in a cloud environment is the need of the hour. With its host of functional, operational, and cost benefits, it is growing to be the best practice in the business of website management. But only when it is in the right hands, you can be assured of operational efficiency.