How Reliable Is Your Cloud Services Provider?

More often than not, it's not the cloud itself which lets businesses down, it's the cloud provider, but can service providers realistically guarantee zero downtime?

There have been several high-profile cases of 'cloud failure' over the past few years, which have done little to enforce public opinion of cloud reliability. However, what people often fail to acknowledge is that it's not the cloud which is unreliable, it's the cloud providers.

Such cases of cloud service failure should not deter people from using cloud services, but instead reinforce the need to employ the right provider. But even with the right provider, can zero downtime ever be guaranteed? With the following key ingredients in place, there's no reason why not.

Next generation data centres

A cloud service provider should be making investments in the best, next generation data centre technology, to deliver an uninterrupted service, which is able to grow with the customer over time. Data centre security should adhere to best practice standards, ideally with a ISO 27001 certification, and offer round-the-clock monitoring and support. Data centres which offer anything less are best avoided.

A proactively monitored network

All cloud services providers will claim to offer round-the-clock support, but unfortunately not all can deliver that promise. It's essential that the core network is proactively monitored 24/7/365, to ensure unbroken access to data and applications when they're needed.

Resilient application platforms

Cloud applications, including voice, data and desktop should be highly resilient, while subject to round-the-clock support from maintenance teams. Platforms should be PCI-certified and ISO 27001 compliant, meeting the highest standards in security and service.

When these three elements combine, the chances of downtime are significantly reduced. If cloud providers apply these standards, and make ongoing commitments to further improving their service, there really is no excuse for downtime at all.

It's easy for businesses to get drawn into attractive looking SLAs (Service Level Agreements), which promise 99.999% uptime. However, often the provider is unable to honour such assurances which puts its customers in a compromising position.

There is little which can compensate for the damage caused by lengthy outages, which can potentially damage the reputation and credibility of a business, and cost thousands of pounds in lost revenue.

So, next time you hear about cloud failure, don't assume it's the cloud which is the problem, because behind every unreliable cloud service, is an unreliable cloud service provider.