IaaS potentially allows companies to experience a great deal of the promised freedom of the cloud, but picking the right provider comes with a stern warning to be cautious.
Lydia Leong, an analyst for research firm Gartner, stated in a recent report that the IaaS market is “immature, the services are all unique and evolving rapidly, and vendors must be chosen with care”. Because of the nature of the cloud and the fact that few strict regulations exist for IaaS providers, the services they deliver, the price they cost and what they will ultimately look like is not something that can be known from a few emails or a casual conversation – real caution and real discussion is essential.
Many companies already have an IT vendor, and often these vendors will offer IaaS services or be looking to move into the IaaS market. This situation represents a real temptation for companies that want to stick with the same provider for simplicity, even if they have no idea what their cloud services will look like. Understanding things like storage builds and underlying CPU issues are crucial before deciding on any provider.
It’s also important for a company to determine exactly what they want their IaaS experience to look like. Some want a self-contained system, one that they can use to get the services they want in a private cloud setting, but without having to deal with the potential security issues in the public cloud. Others prefer to have a provider that can “hold their hand” to some extent and offer guidance on how best to manage IaaS services.
But whether a current provider or new supplier is chosen, make sure their expertise in the field matches their promises.
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