What is a Cloud Provider? What does it do? How do you choose the right one for your business projects?
Let's start with a fact. More and more businesses are adopting the Cloud, recognising that it is a valuable tool for improving technological efficiency. What has changed compared to previous years?
A key element that makes the Cloud indispensable is the fact that technology is advancing at a very fast pace. Physical infrastructures become obsolete very quickly, making the deployment of the Cloud necessary in many cases, first and foremost, for security reasons. Cloud systems are constantly updated. As a result, they are secure and difficult to compromise and attack. This is a real revolution compared to on-premise systems which become obsolete rather quickly, are easily attacked or hacked, and require constant manual updates. Not only that, but the high costs of buying new servers can no longer be amortised, precisely because of the effect of technological ageing made premature by the relentless advance of technology.
Who are the best-known cloud providers on the global market?
The cloud providers that dominate the international scene are industrial giants with a global presence. There are mainly three of them:
1. AMAZON WEB SERVICES (AWS)
It was the first to arrive on the scene and was immediately targeted to a very specific group of people, namely software developers.
AWS is the market leader among developers because it creates the ideal working environment for them by automating certain development processes. The AWS platform is structured in such a way that, once the software has been developed, it is unlikely to be moved to other clouds, both for reasons of cost and practicality.
We would like to share with you some of the critical issues that we believe the AWS platform presents:
The AWS interface is not designed for non-specialist users, so there is little aesthetic detail. It is very dispersed to use, with hundreds of services available. Moreover, it does not provide a control dashboard.
The costs are not only medium to high, but are also difficult to quantify due to the immense number of variables. Moreover, invoicing is not detailed, hence quantifying costs in advance is extremely complicated.
Who would we recommend AWS to? AWS is a provider for those who have no budget constraints and want to have the most integrated platform possible with highly qualified in-house developers.
2. AZURE
Azure came on the market after AWS, but had the intuition to combine the Cloud offering with the Office 365 package with a unified proposal, Exchange online. Thanks to this, Azure initially tied the Cloud to the email service alone but created bespoke Cloud integrations for those who normally use Microsoft.
Another point in Azure's favour is that it has provided the platform with an easy-to-query, more immediate interface. This makes this proposal accessible to SMEs as well, while not neglecting the software development aspect.
On the contrary, compared to those who develop on SQLS servers, the chances of integration are higher with Azure which is a preferred and simpler development environment than AWS. In terms of pricing, Azure is in line with AWS.
Azure: Who do we recommend it to? This Cloud provider is recommended for those who are loyal to using Microsoft, for whom Azure is the Cloud service that offers the best integration.
3. GOOGLE CLOUD PLATFORM (GCP)
Being more recent than the previous Cloud Providers and - like AWS - mainly aimed at software developers, GCP is more cumbersome to operate, but has the great competitive advantage of being able to count on an unrivalled distribution network, essentially granting it a global monopoly. This specific aspect makes GCP the most attractive Cloud provider for the large multinational powers. In terms of costs, Google's offer is in line with other providers.
GCP: who do we recommend it to? Google's cloud provider is a suitable tool for large multinational companies that need a widespread distribution.
While each of these three Cloud providers has had the great merit of bringing the Cloud to the market - of which they hold the largest share - in recent years significant competitors have emerged, thanks to their ability to differente themselves and to offer added value to Cloud solutions.
I nuovi Cloud Provider sul mercato
Here we present three innovative Cloud Providers that are currently offering new solutions to the global market:
- DIGITAL OCEAN - It is placed in an intermediate band between offering fairly complete integrations to the Cloud, whilst concentrating on specific container management projects. It is an American reality that has been able to make itself known and appreciated in a fairly widespread manner, with competitive prices compared to hyperscalers;
- OVH - OVH is a cloud provider based in Paris, distributed mainly in Europe and with a medium presence. It is characterised above all by its very low costs.
- CLOUDFIRE - We are proud to be able to place our company in this group of innovators. We are positioned in an affordable bracket, thanks to a proposal of modular services that start with those that are indispensable for the management of the IT department of Italian companies.
Not only that, at CloudFire we make our services work at their best by seamlessly integrating with the technologies already in use in the company. In addition, we offer the ability to manage through the Cloud resources from other Cloud providers, as is the case, for example, with Talky Time.
Compared to our competitors, our strength is essentially the possibility of offering solutions that can be customised. At CloudFire, the Cloud is internally designed, using open-source technologies that allow us to always being available to study new solutions tailored to our customers and partners. In terms of costs, we distinguish ourselves with transparent pricing and a detailed billing system.
Who uses the Cloud in their company? How much budget is available? Asking the right questions before choosing a provider
Once the main providers have been identified, two things need to be asked:
First question: who are the main users benefiting from Cloud services?
We can divide them into two categories:
a. PROGRAMMERS. They are more focused on SaaS services since what matters most to them is that their Cloud additions work properly. This category usually prefers Azure, especially those who prefer to work with Microsoft, AWS, experienced programmers who can understand and manage Amazon's wide offerings, or DIGITAL OCEAN, especially where there is a more limited budget.
b. SYSTEMISTS. For system administrators, the essential aspect is that the structure is organised as an IaaS, since there are no concerns about physical servers. The choice of Cloud, for this category, is therefore often influenced by the available budget.
Second question: what are the costs?
First off, we'd like to state that, in our opinion, what makes the difference in pricing is the transparency of billings and the possibility to provide details of the used services.
It is clear that the budget is a determining factor in the choice of Cloud providers. However, forecasting the cost of Cloud services is not always straightforward. For example, in the case of AWS, Azure and GCP, the invoices are not detailed, so it is difficult to allocate the cost to the precise involved service.
On this particular aspect, we have worked to offer something more to our customers: at CloudFire we guarantee transparent and detailed billing which can be consulted at any time from Cortex, the purpose-built management portal made available to all companies that choose us as their Cloud provider.
In keeping up with our customer-oriented approach, we offer a choice of pay-per-use or flat-rate solutions, the first one being aimed at those who can size their needs and the second one being at those who prefer to first get an idea of our offered solutions.
The needs of Italian companies
Specifically looking at the Italian scenario, we observe a greater tendency to use software that has already been created or to model it from frameworks.
Generally speaking, in Italy there has been a delayed approach to Cloud technology, for reasons mainly linked to the entrepreneurial attitude which is often rather resistant to change and which looks at technological innovation not as a resource but rather as a cost to be limited to the bare minimum.
In order to place ourselves in this context, we realised that it was essential to be present at every stage of the process, to support such a delicate transition phase as technological evolution.
At CloudFire, one of our main values is to provide services based on the real needs of Italian companies. This is why we have created a Cloud that responds to the daily needs of our customers. This is why we are always at their side to offer support and clear answers.
With this type of support, we can guarantee that the companies that choose us will be successful in their projects, even in the most complex cases. As a matter of fact, the technological limit is almost non-existent where there are adequate skills and experience. Over the years, we have only encountered some criticalities when we have had to migrate very old software to the Cloud, designed to "run" in a physical way, as might be the case with single-core software. In some cases it was not possible to transfer them directly to the Cloud, in other cases it was necessary to readjust them, to make them more compatible with new technologies.
How to choose the right Cloud Provider in 3 steps
As we can therefore see, there are three essential variables to consider when choosing a Cloud provider:
1. What software is used - and what operations need to be performed in the cloud;
2. What is the degree of specialization of those who are going to concretely operate Cloud services, and thus what degree of difficulty of use the Cloud may have;
3. Budget available. Once you have defined what resources are available, who in the company is going to manage the Cloud at the operational level, and what the intended use will be, the decision will come down to a very few factors.
One thing is certain: the Cloud is the right answer. Adopting the Cloud prevents companies from falling behind the market.
Our team of professionals is always available to provide free advice and to discuss with you the advantages of the Cloud for businesses.
The possibilities the Cloud offers are endless: discover them all in just an hour with us. Contact us now.
