5 Customer Criteria for Choosing a Cloud Service Provider in 2018

The most important factors that customers usually take into account when selecting a cloud provider include security and cost, parameters of a cloud infrastructure, USB pass-through support, deployment and setup time, and round-the-clock customer support. Now, let’s have a closer look at each of them to see why every aspect is that important for any cloud platform user.

When considering cloud platforms, it’s critical for any customer to choose an infrastructure that is reliable and secure. Using a cloud service as a data storage, subscribers naturally expect to gain maximum protection of their sensitive data. Although dealing with evolving strains of malware isn’t their core competency, of course, any cloud service provider tries to enhance the security of data storage and transmission. The best option a cloud platform can offer in this case is built-in encryption capabilities.

Another important aspect that has to be added here is the cost. As it often happens, a customer can base their choice on a simple comparison of cloud providers’ pricing pages. In this case, however, a user doesn’t take into account huge costs that are not shown in a cloud pricing table but can be hidden in cloud deployment, architecture, support, etc. Nevertheless, by comparing prices for renting a server or storing some data for a period of time, users decide which cloud service offers the best features and price for their needs.

By finding a cloud infrastructure with the USB pass-through support embedded in the cloud provider’s system, a customer avoids having to install various third-party solutions that offer this functionality. This option represents a tremendous opportunity for both regular cloud platform users that require remote access to their local USB peripherals and large enterprises looking to deploy a cloud service with USB port virtualization support on their specific industry-wide projects.

Then there’s latency. If a customer relies on a cloud infrastructure to play cloud games, no amount of latency is going to be acceptable. Cloud gaming requires the decisions to be made in fractions of seconds so it shouldn’t take much time to send the data to the cloud and back.

It’s only natural that customers prefer cloud platforms whose system is super easy to setup and use. A subscriber chooses a cloud gaming platform that they can pay for and start using in seconds rather than the one that takes quite a while to subscribe and start. Powerful capabilities coupled with simple setup steps seem to be a winning combination for any cloud infrastructure.

Level of customer support is another crucial factor every user takes into account when choosing a cloud provider. Cloud platforms’ help is typically limited to reacting to problems and providing basic troubleshooting tips. Some cloud providers, however, tend to deliver enhanced customer support. Highly skilled experts of such cloud platforms are ready to provide high-quality support 24/7, making sure their service works seamlessly.

So, these are the criteria a customer considers when selecting a cloud platform. Do you know any other factors to influence users’ decision-making process? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.