Experience and Performance Matter When Choosing an Enterprise Cloud Provider

By Laura Stotler
TMCnet Contributing Editor

For any enterprise business that relies on the cloud, speed and reliability matter. Not all cloud providers are created equal, and it’s important to understand that performance, availability and security are the sum total of the cloud provider’s experience and expertise. Choosing a provider with experience and a proven track record is absolutely essential to any enterprise cloud deployment.

As the first global provider of a hosted Microsoft (News - Alert) Exchange 2010 offering, back in 2009, Intermedia has been steadily building and improving its enterprise-grade cloud offerings for years. The company is focused on several variables to ensure enterprises glean the most value and the best experience from the company’s cloud solutions.

Performance is of course a huge consideration when selecting a cloud provider, and minimizing network latency while maximizing processing capabilities is key to ensuring optimum performance. Intermedia’s (News - Alert) enterprise customers get to choose where their data will reside, which also has a massive impact on performance. Since the company maintains a broad range of locations, customers can house data in locations physically close to their branches and offices, for optimal speed and performance.

An additional factor critical for an enterprise considering the move to the cloud is the network backbone. Intermedia, for instance, uses several Tier 1 Internet providers to comprise its network in an effort to minimize latency and offer maximum performance. Processing capabilities are another important factor, and a strong cloud provider will maximize capabilities at the virtualization layer, the compute layer and the storage layer. Performance and efficiencies are achieved via a mix of high-end servers and dedicated backup networks, along with the ability to fine-tune each storage array to an optimal state based on specific workloads and needs.

In Intermedia’s case, the cloud provider offers a Multi-Zone Design in its datacenters, in which each section is built on dedicated hardware. If any infrastructure fails, it is restricted to a very small and specific section with backup guaranteed to ensure availability.

Choosing a cloud provider is one of the most important decisions any enterprise can make. Finding one with a proven track record of reliability, performance and experience is the best way to make a smooth transition to the cloud.