How to Choose the Right Cloud Management Service for Your Needs

Cloud service providers are companies that provide cloud computing services to customers. These services can include data storage, applications, and cloud-based solutions. This could include hybrid cloud, private cloud, self service and multi-cloud offerings, but for the purpose of this article, it means public cloud providers.

The two largest cloud service providers are Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Each of these providers offers a wide range of self-service cloud services, making them well-suited to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes. In addition, each cloud provider has a different pricing model, so it is important to compare prices before selecting a cloud service provider.

If you are in the process of choosing between AWS and Azure then there are a few differences to understand.

At IG CloudOps, we believe that the first and most important thing to look for is that their service is underpinned by cloud management software. If the partner is providing a cloud management platform, then this may be their software or a third-party tool.

A list of the main areas you should look for in a partner would be:

• Partnerships with the main cloud providers: Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure
• Automation not just pairs of hands: Their offering must be underpinned by robust cloud management software or cloud management tools which automate maintenance tasks and flag issues. For more about cloud management software and why it should be part of your AWS & Azure cloud management strategy read our article here.
• Support services: Public cloud services are complex and always evolving, any provider needs a team of experts as well as software. This should cover you for business-as-usual issues that crop up from time to time.
• Consultancy services: Activities such as architecture scoping, deployment and advice about changes to your cloud that don't come under support traditionally have required external consultants to validate or provide a sounding board. Try to find a partner who includes this in their service, this removes the need for expensive consultants to be brought in.
• Machine learning (ML) and Artificial intelligence (AI): Usually used to flag risks/security problems and generate suggestions to improve performance / reduce cost for your cloud environment. Be aware that machine learning and artificial intelligence can sometimes be used interchangeably in features overviews
• Maintenance: Configuration management and monitoring should be part of their offering to make sure your environments stable for the long term.
• Cloud Security and compliance: Ideally this should be part of any cloud management platforms that your partner uses, and it should include constant monitoring/updating and recording of issues for resolution.
• Cost analysis: This is quite a standard component of most cloud management platforms, but it should enable you to work with your partner to balance cost vs performance for your managed cloud services. For more about how to get clear costs and stop getting surprises in AWS & Azure read our article here.
• Operations management: Unified cloud management dashboards to allow you to manage your cloud infrastructure across multiple cloud providers all in one place and conform to best practices that are followed for each managed cloud environment.

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing between managed services from a cloud provider.

Price is often a key consideration, as cloud services can range from free to hundreds of dollars per month. However, it is important to weigh the price against features and review the offer in detail to ensure that you are getting value for money.

Another key consideration is scalability. If you anticipate that your needs will change over time, then you will need a service that can accommodate those changes.

Finally, security is also an important consideration, especially if you are dealing with sensitive data. Be sure to review the security features of any cloud service you are considering before making a final decision.

Please review the cloud management services offered by IG CloudOps and take our test drive to learn more about how we can help you manage your cloud resources effectively. You can review the features of our cloud services here.

Cloud management involves a number of different tasks, including provisioning and configuring virtual servers, monitoring and optimizing performance, and ensuring security and compliance.

The cost of cloud management can be driven by several factors, such as:

• The size and complexity of your environment
• The level of support you need, there might be several offerings based on the size of the business from SME to Enterprise
• Number of devices or virtual machines (EC2 on AWS)
• Number of services or cloud artefacts like Kubernetes clusters
• Amount of data processed or stored
• Does the cloud management platform cover other areas like on-premise infrastructure as well?
• A percentage of your monthly cloud spend

Each of these elements could be part of or influence your final price for cloud management tools. Basic cloud management services can start at around $50 per month, while more comprehensive plans can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month. When choosing a cloud management provider, it's important to assess your needs and compare pricing plans to find the most affordable option.

Many cloud management platforms only provide limited pricing information online and ask you to contact their sales team for a comprehensive quote. This can be quite frustrating when you are trying to review different options for managing your cloud environments.

At IG CloudOps, we have made our pricing available on our website so that you can compare our pricing against any other provider. We believe our pricing is simple and competitive and our cloud management platform CloudOps provides great value for money.

Software providers go by many names independent software vendors (ISVs), Software as a service business (SaaS) or platform as a service (PaaS). As a software provider, you need to be able to trust that your cloud management solution will deliver the performance, security, and compliance that your business demands. Your customers rely on you to provide a high-quality experience, and you need a cloud management platform that can help you meet those expectations.

The right solution will give you the visibility and control you need to manage your applications and infrastructure, while also providing the scalability and flexibility that you need to grow your business. With so much at stake, it's important to choose a cloud management solution that you can rely on.

IG CloudOps has the experience and expertise to help you navigate the challenges of cloud management with CloudOps, ensuring that your business can succeed in today's competitive landscape. We have worked with many similar businesses some with well-established cloud environments, others taking their first steps into the cloud and others with both legacy and cloud environments.

Automating cloud operations management (NoOps)

CloudOps allows us to scale our knowledge gained by working with hundreds of public cloud environments around the world. If you are a SaaS or ISV business then CloudOps allows you to automate your cloud operations management and focus on your software roadmap.

We have worked with several organisations to allow them to move away from fire-fighting cloud-related issues and get back to focusing on their software. For more background about this NoOps approach read our article on the subject.

When making the final choice, there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, you want to make sure that the supplier is reputable and has a good track record. Checking references and reviews can be helpful in this regard. Also, make sure that their case studies are up to date and ask to speak to an existing customer if possible one who is similar to your organisation.

In addition, it's important to ensure that the supplier has strong partnerships in place with leading cloud providers. This will give you peace of mind knowing that your data is in good hands.

Finally, be sure to ask about pricing and feature options so that you can find the best fit for your business needs. By taking these factors into consideration, you can be confident that you're making the best choice for your business.

At IG CloudOps, we are driven by a cloud-first mentality and have built our CloudOps software with this in mind. We are always improving the product and have the specialist knowledge in our AWS and Azure teams to support, and advise on your cloud infrastructure.

We have a proven track record of working with the cloud for over a decade and are partnered with AWS and Azure. Take a test drive of CloudOps and find out how this combination of software and expertise on demand can help you.