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Key Features to Look For in a Cloud Hosting Provider

The modern business environment is fiercely competitive and tough. In order to stay relevant, businesses need to be tech-savvy, adaptable to changes and accessible from anywhere, at anytime. Whether you’re a current cloud hosting user, or are just considering making the move, it’s vital to opt for a QuickBooks cloud hosting partner who will provide the very best in terms of tech and support.

Here are the key features you should look for in a cloud hosting provider. 

Ease of Use & Reliability

Your cloud hosting provider should offer you a solution that is perfectly suited to the needs of your enterprise. Opt for a platform that allows you data access from any device, enables easy transfer of files, and provides quick and easy one-click access from your desktop. It’s important to look for a cloud hosting provider that guarantees quick and reliable delivery of your applications and data. 

Here are the key areas you should address before making a final decision on a hosting provider:

  • Does the provider’s service level agreement include an uptime guarantee? If so, will the provider compensate you if it fails to meet the guarantee?
  • Can the provider guarantee business continuity in case there’s an issue on their end? 
  • What’s the provider’s disaster recovery protocol? How often will the provider back up your data?

Reliable Hosting Support

Solid support from your hosting provider is crucial to your business’s continuity and its ability to satisfy customers and clients. The ideal hosting provider should have a dependable support team that responds to tickets instantly, and is available to assist you 24/7, 365 days a year. Furthermore, the support team should also be certified on the specific software that you’re getting hosted. This additional level of system expertise and knowledge sets apart the really dependable hosting providers from the rest. 

Immediate Cloud Hosting Access

Remember, just because you’ve outsourced an IT function doesn’t mean that you’ve given up complete control. Your hosting provider should be able to provide you immediate administrative access to your servers, subscriptions and applications. You should also be able to easily access billing information. 

Solid Security

As the safety of your data is imperative in case there’s a disaster, you should take particular care when going through the security offerings of a potential provider. Select a provider who is certified from a credible third party and is compliant with the highest PCI standards. 

Good Data Management & Governance

Your business policy might already include a data classification scheme that categorizes types of data based on its sensitivity or data residency policies. You should be aware of data privacy or regulatory rules pertaining to personal data, at the very least. 

Keeping that in consideration, your data’s residing location and the subsequent laws and regulations it’s subject to, might play a significant role in the selection process. If you have particular obligations and requirements, you should seek a cloud hosting provider that gives you control and choice in regards to the jurisdiction in which your information is processed, managed and stored. While a cloud hosting provider should be transparent about the locations of their data centers, you should make it a responsibility to find out this information. 

A Detailed Service Roadmap

The ideal cloud hosting provider will also give you a service development roadmap. This will detail the provider’s plans for future growth and development. The provider’s road map should perfectly align with the long-term needs of your enterprise. 

Regarding the provider’s service development roadmap, some important factors you should consider include their protocol for supporting interoperability, their commitments to particular vendors and technologies and if they’re able to demonstrate deployments that are similar to the one you require. 

A detailed roadmap for service, features and integration should be an essential requirement, particularly if you’re selecting a SaaS provider. 

Based on your specific cloud strategy, you may also want to assess a potential provider’s overall services portfolio.

About the author

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Ryan Fernandes

Ryan Fernandes is an IT specialist, he reviewed multiple cloud hosting options specifically QuickBooks hosting service providers and writes about their implementation and migration processes.