How to Choose a Cloud Service Provider? 10 Things to Consider

How to Choose a Cloud Service Provider? 10 Things to Consider

Since businesses of all sizes and sectors are migrating their IT operations to the cloud, the cloud-computing market has increased over the last ten years. Gartner says the worldwide market for public cloud services will probably reach some $600 billion this year.

This extension is cost-effective, scalable, and faster with improved performance. However, some risks associated with security issues do exist. According to a survey conducted in 2022, 39% of businesses faced breaches in their data within cloud infrastructures.

The selection process for Cloud computing service providers involves considerations other than functionality, such as security and reliability.

A Cloud Service Provider: What Is It?

A business that provides various computing services via the Internet is known as a cloud service provider (CSP). Servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence are commonly provided services.

CSPs help people and organizations access and use computing resources and services without requiring a lot of infrastructure or physical hardware. Because of their cost-effectiveness, scalability, and flexibility, consumers pay only for the resources they use.

Secure and modern computing environments are guaranteed because the provider manages and maintains the services.

Points to Consider before selecting a cloud service provider?

Before choosing cloud services and solutions, check out our list of cloud security requirements. Your firm's operational and functional requirements may influence the selection of cloud vendors. The following are the elements and criteria of the cloud security checklist that are essential for companies of all sizes and sectors to consider. 

1. Adherence to Industry Standards

To reduce hazards, ensure the cloud service provider you select entirely complies with industry norms. Seek certificates from the ISO, especially ISO-27001, ISO-27002, and ISO-27017. Such certifications by the ISO ensure a cloud service provider follows best practices regarding network security in the cloud. ISO-27018 ensures that a cloud provider has particular infrastructure and policies to keep sensitive information safe.

Today's most crucial data privacy frameworks are HIPAA, CCPA, SOC, and GDPR. All of these must be shown to be complied with by the third party, wherein the cloud service provider would have conducted proper third-party audits to check this company's security posture and ensure that it keeps pace with various legislation standards to ensure that it maintains all the parameters of data governance, security, and privacy.

2. Assessing Workflows in Operations

Undiscovered inefficiencies, weaknesses, or holes in the vendor's procedures could seriously jeopardize the confidentiality and dependability of the cloud environment. Consequently, it is imperative to assess whether the cloud provider's operational procedures and organizational structure comply with the industry standards' legal mandates.

Request access to security logs and independent security assessments as part of the SLA (service-level agreement). The cloud provider shouldn't be reluctant to divulge details to illuminate integrated security measures. Vendors should be looking for those who need to provide the insights they need; this could indicate a lack of openness or compromised organizational procedures.

3. Assess Methods of Authentication

The public cloud increases access risks for data and application storage, which can result in identity theft and data theft. Onboard cloud providers that provide secure identity controls, like single sign-on, biometric authentication, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and real-time identity monitoring tools, reduce identity theft risk.

Taking these precautions ensures an extra security layer to stop instances using passwords. Additionally, it confirms that the cloud service provider complies with all legal obligations and industry standards on access control and authentication.

4. Assessing Vendor Access and Control 

The organization's relationship with the cloud vendor must be trusted when moving to cloud infrastructure. The provider's infrastructure handles a sizable amount of the workload and data for the organization.

Establishing vendor governance and access policies to recognize the extent of the vendor's control and access to your cloud-native resources, data, and apps is crucial for protecting your company's assets and sensitive data. If you migrate to the cloud without analyzing these regulations, you risk damaging your vital business data and assets. 

5. Assess the Corporate Audit Records

An audit trail is a line-by-line record of cloud services and solutions transactions, including the names and times of the users conducting specific operations. Corporate audit logs can offer vital information about compliance reporting, forensic analysis, and incident response. This information is essential to guarantee visibility and transparency in cloud environments.

The cloud service provider should enable direct access to audit logs to help recover required documents and create thorough audit trails. Without access, it may be challenging to investigate security problems and spot intrusions.

6. Assess Internal Resources

Investigate the tools and the pertinent cloud network security best practices vendors adhere to in detail. Structured workflows, effective data management, and service status transparency are some of the specific elements that need to be evaluated in addition to standard security and transparency. Examine the vendor's internal resource management, encompassing management, staffing, and training.

Shared responsibility models, which incorporate particular security standards supplied by client businesses for rigorous inspection and security, are frequently employed by cloud providers. The shared responsibility model must be discussed to enforce strict compliance with security protocols and industry standards. This helps to clarify the responsibilities of both the cloud service provider and the customer

7. Examine the SLA

The cloud SLA (Service Level Agreement) is an essential contract specifying the predetermined service level and security considerations between an enterprise and a cloud vendor. Shared duties, uptime, support, maintenance, data governance, and audit logs are all included.

Scrutinize the SLA and discuss it with your legal counsel to prevent future issues resulting in contract breaches and threats to cloud security. Legal regulations must also be the primary emphasis to guarantee cloud data security.

8. Assess Integrations with Third Parties

To guarantee control over infrastructure security, evaluate the Cloud computing service providers' capacity to integrate third-party security integrations. Robust and sophisticated cloud security requires integration with third-party security tools. Cloud service providers shouldn't prevent users from using their reliable services. Instead, they must guarantee adaptability to include value-added services that uphold cloud network security.

Additionally, it facilitates your collaboration with the vendor who fixes incompatibilities and ensures synchronization between the new cloud foundation and bespoke security or monitoring apps. In the end, it aids businesses in increasing operational effectiveness, reducing expenses, and making the most of new services and technology.

9. Assess Dependability & Efficiency Well-being

Cloud service providers need a firm plan to combat any outages or downtime that can adversely affect their clients. Understanding server outages' occurrence, effects, and average restoration time requires a thorough analysis of key performance metrics and reliability.

Considering these guarantees, the cloud provider can easily manage your company's requirements. Consider running a proof of concept or pilot program to confirm the cloud provider's dependability and performance in a real-world setting before final onboarding and contract closing. This will assist you in reaching a more sensible and well-informed decision. 

10. Monitor the Past of Network Intrusions & Data Breaches

Examining a cloud provider's prior data breaches and losses is essential to evaluating their security. The vendor's size and shared responsibility model should be discussed, along with the background and consequences of previous occurrences.

It assists you in identifying whether the issue is a vendor—or client-side vulnerability or an unmanaged setting. Penetration testing is crucial when assessing the vendor's security posture. It not only assists you in locating such weaknesses but also provides you with information regarding the incident response plan and the capability of suppliers to address security breaches and crises.

Conclusion

In conclusion, to protect your company's data and operations, choosing the best cloud service provider requires carefully evaluating numerous security, operational, and compliance aspects. The procedure is complex and includes everything from assessing third-party integrations and audit logs to assessing industry standards and authentication techniques. Estimating these checks' importance is impossible because even a tiny mistake could result in serious security lapses, outages, or data loss.

Aress provides a wide range of Cloud computing service providers tailored to address these issues. Our priority is following industry-leading security protocols, and we ensure that ISO certifications and legal frameworks like HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC are thoroughly followed. We offer a secure cloud environment customized to meet your unique business requirements, with robust authentication techniques, visible audit trails, and robust operational procedures.

Choosing Aress allows you to take advantage of our unwavering dedication to security and performance and access to premium cloud infrastructure. Our shared responsibility model guarantees that you maintain control over your data at all times, and our proficiency with third-party interfaces enables a smooth cloud-computing transition without compromising security or operational effectiveness. With Aress, you can focus on running your business confidently, knowing that we will always care for your cloud infrastructure and maintain its security and dependability.