Cloud Resellers vs. true Cloud Service Providers
What type of Cloud Provider is right for you? A Cloud Reseller or a true Cloud Service Provider?
Businesses everywhere are moving into Cloud Based Solutions in order to eliminate the woes of traditional IT Solutions. It’s important to determine what type of cloud service is right for your organization. This variable can sometimes get lost in the decision making process yet it is infinitely critical to make the best choice that meets your needs. Most IT Providers are cloud resellers yet there are just a small handful of IT Providers that are true cloud service providers like OCCloud9. So what is the difference and why should this be important to you?
The key characteristics of any service provider include being reliable, accessible, service oriented and lastly, ethical trustworthiness. That is what you should expect from any IT provider, yet sadly this isn’t always the case. A cloud reseller will literally have their hands tied when it comes down to that 11th hour and something has happened. What if you accidentally deleted an important file or you have lost connection to the host? Are you 100% certain that you can reach someone that will honestly be able to help you and if you get ahold of someone, will they genuinely be capable of helping you? Better yet, what state or country did you get bounced around to and how long did that whole process take? A true cloud service provider will have 24 hour support available and best yet, you can rest assured that a live person is reachable to assist with your emergency. You, the customer have entrusted a service provider to have a vested interest in your success, which means, any failure that affects you, should be viewed as unacceptable. Does your cloud provider have your company protected properly from outside threats and vulnerabilities or are they relying on an outside vendor who could care less about the security of your data?
Having trouble with one of your software applications? Perhaps QuickBooks isn’t connecting? What would you do? Who would you call? QuickBooks support? That sounds like just a ton of fun…. With a cloud service provider like OCCloud9, all you have to do is pick up the phone or send an email and rest assured that YOUR issue will be resolved in an expedited manner so you can get back to work. The best part is that a member of the OCCloud9 team will be there to assist. You will not need to rely on a bunch of strangers attempting to help you or frustrate you! Nothing here is outsourced, which ensure a unique and dependable collaboration between you and your cloud service provider! This winning combination can put your mind at ease knowing that your cloud environment is managed and monitored by a team that you can just pick up the phone and call! Yes, really! Try it!
What about the security of your data? Aside from connectivity, this is the most important factor to consider when moving into a cloud solution. Let’s say that someone in your company clicks on the wrong link and infects the company with a Ransomware virus. Now what? The resolution to this problem is solely based on your cloud provider and how competent they are in dealing with data security and protection. Our team has extensive experience in cleaning up after less skilled technology firms when clients have been hijacked or from other catastrophic events occurring. When a company is at the mercy of a third party cloud provider, you never know what type of service and response time you may get. Does that sit well with you? What about your data? What level of priority would you receive in this type of scenario? Our cloud team at OCCloud9 would work tirelessly to get your company back online because we have a vested interest in your success.
So why isn’t every cloud reseller a true cloud service provider since this sounds like such a winning combination? I will explain: Time, Effort, Resources, Revenue and Expertise. The infrastructure design and on-going maintenance of a real cloud platform requires significant technical skill and monitoring, not to mention the investment in the cloud solution. Many IT companies simply don’t have the skillset or manpower to administer or manage this type of infrastructure, therefore they rely on a 3rd party vendor to handle this for them. Unfortunately, that 3rd party vendor might not be available or helpful when you, the client, has an emergency. How can anyone find comfort knowing this?
What kind of cloud solution is right for your business? Worry free cloud solutions provided by true cloud service providers or an IT company who is really just a cloud reseller? Contact OCCloud9 for more information at (949) 699-6619.
