{"id":505,"date":"2015-05-08T16:32:14","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T20:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/cloud-platforms\/?p=505"},"modified":"2016-10-18T16:33:02","modified_gmt":"2016-10-18T20:33:02","slug":"5-questions-you-need-to-ask-yourself-before-choosing-a-cloud-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/cloud-platforms\/5-questions-you-need-to-ask-yourself-before-choosing-a-cloud-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before Choosing a Cloud Solution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/cloud-platforms\/files\/2013\/11\/Cloud_Platform_Buyers_Guide_250.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-112 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/cloud-platforms\/files\/2013\/11\/Cloud_Platform_Buyers_Guide_250.gif\" alt=\"Cloud_Platform_Buyers_Guide_250\" width=\"174\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a>The following is an excerpt from Solutions Review\u2019s 2015 Cloud Platforms Solutions Buyer\u2019s Guide, to view the whole report, download if for free <a href=\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/cloud-platforms\/free-cloud-platform-solutions-paas-iaas-buyers-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\">here.<\/a><br \/>\n<strong>What are my security needs?<\/strong><br \/>\nWith the number and scale of security threats these days, security has to be at the top of the list for decision-makers. So how critical is the data you\u2019ll be pumping through that cloud infrastructure and platform? Additionally, how is the potential new cloud platform planned to connect with other aspects of your business and technology environment, potentially creating new gateways for malicious attacks? Is the potential platform\u2019s architecture such that security can be built into the solution? These answers can help you determine how much you will need to invest into security to ensure your new cloud platform dream doesn\u2019t become a nightmare.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where is the value-add in my business, both now and in the future?<\/strong><br \/>\nBusinesses should maintain internal capability in areas where they have the most value-add. This way you can maintain in-house expertise needed to maintain your competitive edge in key product areas today, and in the future through innovation. On the other hand, areas where you don\u2019t have much value-add and that aren\u2019t necessary for maintaining your competitive edge, can be outsourced. Because the acquisition of a cloud platform might represent the outsourcing of internal business capability, make sure what you\u2019re outsourcing won\u2019t hurt you down the road through lost internal expertise.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the business needs I\u2019m looking to address?<\/strong><br \/>\nCloud platform solutions could represent significant savings for your company, but you still need to make sure you don\u2019t pursue a solution your company doesn\u2019t need. Make sure you actually need an entire enterprise cloud platform solution and not just a software add-on and vice versa. This requires that you clearly define the specific business needs driving the project.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is my company and IT department?<\/strong><br \/>\nSome cloud platform solutions providers will be better suited to helping smaller companies, while others cater toward larger companies. Pick potential solutions providers with a good reputation for working with other companies in your size, vertical, geography, etc. Additionally, the size, sophistication and slack within your IT department also impacts how good a match a potential solution is. Investigate what resources and capabilities your IT has available that might be relevant to implementing and running the cloud platform solution before you select a vendor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What support will I need from the vendor?<\/strong><br \/>\nEven (or perhaps especially) large companies sometimes need extra support and services from vendors in order to make sure the enterprise technology solutions run well. The same is true for cloud platforms. Find out what support and services your company may need before selecting a vendor so that you know what to ask for and compare.<\/p>\n<br \/>Widget not in any sidebars<br \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following is an excerpt from Solutions Review\u2019s 2015 Cloud Platforms Solutions Buyer\u2019s Guide, to view the whole report, download if for free here. What are my security needs? With the number and scale of security threats these days, security has to be at the top of the list for decision-makers. So how critical is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[84,22],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before Choosing a Cloud Platform Solution<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Choosing cloud solutions is no easy task. 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