The Cloud as a business management tool has definitely arrived. Organizations large and small are taking advantage of the economies of scale and ease of management that cloud-based software solutions offer. However, most businesses need some direction and guidance in deciding how to choose services, implement them in their business and maximize a cloud investment. Selecting the Best Business Cloud Services is still an exercise that can be perilous to your business. In this article, we’re going to discuss the top three questions a business manager or owner will want to ask a potential cloud consultant.
One important question to ask is: Are you aligned financially with any of the product vendors that you suggest to us? Are you a trusted advisor who is agnostic when it comes to products, or are you making a commission from a vendor when you sell something to me? This doesn’t mean that the consultant can’t be offering you the best solution, but they should clearly and frankly state up front that they do have a business relationship with the vendor.
A second consideration is their professional tool set. You will want to know what tools they use and whether they will be available for your organization to use as well. Do not underestimate the importance of being able to use the same tool set that your consultants use. It can make managing and monitoring your cloud seamless, or incredibly difficult, depending on the answer. If they use open source tools that are freely available, have they modified them in any way? Will they make those modifications available to you?
The last question goes to the heart of the why you hire a consultant in the first place. How are you going to help us make a decision? What is your process? What information do we need to give you? What will you provide to us? How will you justify your recommendations to us? As a potential customer, you need to understand their process to see if it works with your business culture. This is an enormously important question that can easily be overlooked.
Regardless of where you are in your cloud implementation, Business Name can assist you. Selecting the Best Business Cloud Services doesn’t have to be confusing and baffling; Business Name is here to help.
