Step 9: Write the Final Report Evaluating AWS and Azure Providers

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Considerations for Cloud Provider Selection

Selecting cloud providers involves making decisions in several business and technical

areas.

From a technical point of view, the most important element is whether the provider can

satisfy technical IT requirements. Below are some examples of questions you should ask.

Not all of them will be applicable for BallotOnline.

Does the compute offering include the type of servers you need?

If needed, is automatic auto scale and load balancing available?

Are the required services (database, networking, storage) available?

Is the security zone isolation and secure remote access to them available?

Is the geographical distribution of data centers available? Does the provider support

fast connectivity between them to implement a high availability solution?

Is the application migration and deployment easy? Does the provider make migration

tools and automatic deployment available?

How fast is the server and application environment provisioning?

Are the features available for application management, monitoring, and auditing?

Are they easy to use?

Does the vendor use any open-source software solutions, or are all the proprietary

ones that could lock you down into using their services?

Are the cloud provisioning and management features available programmatically via

application programming Interfaces, in case you would like to automate your

deployments?

In case you would consider moving your application development and testing to the

cloud, are DevOps (automated development and operations) services available?

Regarding business requirements, here are examples of issues to consider:

Learning Topic

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Are the vendor contracts and service-level agreements acceptable? Do they satisfy

your requirements for deployment availability, support, and conflict resolution?

Is the vendor willing to customize your contract if needed?

If your industry requires companies to follow specific standards and acquire

certifications (such as financial or health care industry standards), does the vendor

follow them?

If the application is to be used in different geographies which may have data privacy

and security rules (such as the European Union), can the vendor support it?

Are your application security requirements satisfied? Can the application and access

to it be audited in case of problems?

How do application deployment and server prices compare?

What is the range and depth of supported services? Do they include new cloud

industry trends so that the provider is "future-proof"?

References

Cloud Industry Forum. (n.d.). 8 criteria to ensure you select the right cloud service

provider. Retrieved from https://www.cloudindustryforum.org/content/8-criteria-

ensure-you-select-right-cloud-service-provider

Markey, S. C. (n.d.). Selecting a cloud service provider. Retrieved from

https://iapp.org/media/presentations/12Summit/S12_Cloud_Service_Provider_PP

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Practical Guide to Cloud Service Level Agreements

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Selecting the Right Cloud Provider

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