10 Things to Look for in Cloud Computing Companies

Considering working with one of the best cloud computing companies for your Oracle, AWS, or Google Cloud implementation? If you’ve already completed a software implementation sometime in the past, you know that selecting a tech solution is only one half of your full implementation journey – it’s equally important to choose the right consultant to get everything up and running for you. 

There are many available resources that help you choose the right consultant for your needs, but there aren’t as many resources that explain how you can ensure that you find a good cloud computing consultant. The best consultants are ones that can handle your migration and implementation with ease, supporting you during every step of your cloud journey. 

Luckily, you’ve found the right guide, which explains the 10 things you’ll want to look for, so you can ensure you’re working with a great cloud implementation consultant for your unique needs. 

1. Full Stack Expertise

“The cloud” offers quite a few options these days, which is why modern enterprises are thinking beyond cloud apps. In fact, enterprises looking to leverage the full power of the cloud are now expanding their cloud capabilities from apps into infrastructure (IaaS) and platforms (PaaS).  Some enterprises choose cloud databases, some enterprises choose to run a full-featured cloud behind their own firewall… the options truly are limitless. 

Since there’s so much your business can do with the cloud now and in the future, you’ll want to ensure that you only choose from the cloud computing companies that provide full stack expertise. That way, you can freely scale your cloud usage to stay competitive – without worrying about bringing in extra cloud consultants for each new integration. 

2. A Long History of Cloud Experience

As increasing numbers of enterprises have decided to venture into the cloud, increasing numbers of cloud computing companies have popped up to serve them. However, not all cloud consultants have the long-term experience your enterprise needs to ensure that your mission-critical workloads stay secure and functional at each step of your cloud transition: before, during, and after implementation. 

Your company deserves the best service, so look for a cloud consultant that can demonstrate a long history of cloud experience. They should be able to point you toward client references from years back, they should have wide-ranging implementation experience, and (most importantly) they should have a proven ability to get enterprises like yours onto the cloud, securely and with as little effort on your part as possible. 

3. Industry Knowledge

In the last tip, we mentioned that you should only work with cloud computing companies that have experience working with enterprises like yours. Why is this? Because only those consultants will have the know-how to address your highly specific industry needs and requirements. 

The cloud is very flexible, offering many freedoms to the enterprises that can properly leverage it. When you work with an experienced cloud consultant that has the industry know-how to help you identify the best opportunities for your cloud journey, you can be assured that you’ll end up with the right solution to meet your specific industry challenges head on. 

4. Consistent, Repeatable Results

Just as you want your cloud implementation partner to have knowledge and experience, you also want to see that they have a history of proven results, as well as a predictable implementation process that they follow. The process is key because it helps your enterprise migrate smoothly to the cloud, with few to no surprises. 

In fact, the process is one of the main reasons you’ll want to only work with experienced cloud computing companies – their history of performing many, many cloud implementations should result in a migration that provides the maximum efficiency and predictability for you, every step of the way. 

5. Great Client References

How can you objectively tell if a cloud implementation consultant has experience, industry knowledge, a consistent process, and great results? Just ask one of their clients! 

In your initial consultant investigation process, you’ll want to look for cloud case studies to identify if the team you’re considering has true cloud expertise. Later in the sales process, you can request a client reference from within your industry, which should provide you with additional assurance. 

6. Multi-Cloud Certifications

One of the biggest selling points for cloud computing is the lack of vendor lock-in, especially because no vendor lock-in means that your enterprise can achieve true multi-cloud freedom. According to Gartner, about 75% of enterprises using IaaS will adopt a deliberate multi-cloud strategy by 2022, which means that to stay competitive, your task is to keep your multi-cloud options open. 

Don’t box your enterprise in by choosing a cloud consultant that only specializes in a single cloud vendor – look for one that holds certifications in a wide range of today’s top cloud solutions, such as AWS, Google, Azure, and others, so you can build your perfect cloud solution on whatever platform you like and always take advantage of the top cloud options. 

7. A Problem-Solving Mindset

The flexibility of the cloud means that every cloud implementation is unique – because every business is unique. No matter how experienced your cloud consultant is, it’s highly likely that your one-of-a-kind implementation and configuration will result in some perplexing cloud integration puzzles and challenges. Therefore, it’s important that you choose a cloud team that can overcome unexpected challenges easily and quickly, so your cloud timeline stays on track. 

Ensure that you’ll be working with a problem-solving team able to brainstorm fast, effective solutions in house by asking them about their prior experience pioneering a new cloud implementation that had never been done before – the bigger the better. 

8. Ongoing Support Solutions

One of the most overlooked factors in today’s enterprise cloud market is ongoing managed services support for your cloud solution. This is critical to your success. Immediately following your implementation, it’s unlikely that your in-house team will have the full range of cloud skills necessary to maintain your solution, yet you’ll want to make sure your cloud (or multi-cloud) solution functions seamlessly every second of every day. 

When looking for cloud computing companies for your cloud evolution, be sure to choose one that offers not only selection and implementation services, but also long-term ongoing managed cloud services that are in line with your multi-cloud needs. 

9. Fast, Accurate Migrations

Considering how fast the speed of business moves these days, you can’t afford to have a slow migration process. You need a fast, accurate transformation, so make sure you choose a cloud consultant that offers a modern “lift and shift” migration focused on getting your workloads into the cloud at record speed. 

Some consultants provide migrations that take months, some take weeks, and some take days – but the best consultants offer accurate, seamless migrations that take only hours for each workload. That’s the pace of migration you want.  

10. Strategic Thinking

Modern enterprises like yours are moving to the cloud because they understand the value of having an agile and flexible tool to drive their company forward in today’s disruptive business landscape. However, simply having a cloud solution won’t solve all your business challenges; you also need a dynamic cloud strategy. 

In the past, enterprises relied on their VARs (value added resellers) to help them develop their long-term technology strategy, but experts suggest that VARs may be the new dinosaur in today’s hyper-modern tech landscape. These days, it’s a smarter idea to work with a strategic cloud MSP that can help you ensure that you always have the right solutions to meet your objectives, all the time. 

Work with One of the Best Cloud Computing Companies: Centroid

Since 1997, Centroid has been helping companies of all sizes select, implement, and manage their business technology solutions. Centroid is not only a proven Oracle leader and Oracle Platinum Partner, they were also one of the first Oracle Cloud MSPs on the planet and drove the largest Oracle IaaS/PaaS integration to date. 

But here’s so much more to Centroid than one cloud. 

Certified across today’s major cloud solutions and experienced in combining a range of cloud services and tools to create effective, futuristic, multi-cloud solutions, Centroid delivers the tools, technology, expertise, and problem-solving skills you need to ensure that your comprehensive cloud vision becomes a reality, faster than you ever thought possible. 

Learn more about Centroid’s wide-ranging cloud capabilities, so you can start planning for truly supported, cloud enterprise freedom.