Top Cloud Computing Companies

Choosing the right cloud computing service provider becomes integral to business success, whether you are planning to virtualize your software development process or infrastructure. As there are many cloud computing companies available here, picking the right one can be difficult. So, here we are with an in-depth buyer’s guide that can help you make smart choices and informed decisions.

Save Costs: By using cloud computing services, you save costs on maintaining expensive hardware and infrastructure.

Better Insights: With easy access to data, you get better insights that help you understand customer behavior and identify problems before they arise.

Flexibility: All data available in one place and accessible from anywhere can help you work from anywhere at any time.

Easy Collaboration: Employees from different locations can collaborate excellently, eliminating all the mistakes and misunderstandings.

Data Security: Data stored on the cloud also has a backup facility, eliminating all the worry relating to data being stolen or deleted by mistake.

Below are the five major factors that you should consider while picking a cloud computing company that aligns with your business goals.

1. Certifications:

Pick a cloud company that has cloud computing certifications, like ISO 27001, complies with market standards, and follows the respective government's cyber essential rules depending on the country it works from.

2. Cost:

Migrating to cloud computing services can be expensive. Opt for a service provider that offers the required cloud computing solutions and infrastructure within your budget. However, you may need to be flexible regarding the pricing models to benefit the most from the services offered by the cloud partner.

3. Security:

Inquire about the cloud service companies' security protocols to safeguard your data. Verify the procedure they follow in case of a data breach or other threats. Besides, check their data recovery strategies during disasters. Also, ask them about the location of the servers when planning to upload vast volumes of data.

4. Reliability:

Ensure that the shortlisted cloud service companies have previously provided similar solutions. This offers businesses insight into the company's functioning and expertise in that particular field. Also, you can request for their past client references or check out independent review and rating platforms like Goodfirms to analyze their efficiency.

5. Support:

A cloud computing service provider's task is not over after deployment. They must offer maintenance during any glitch or product failure.  Choose a company that offers 24/7 support.

To hire the right cloud computing service provider, it is important to know whether they provide the type of services you are looking for. So, let’s have a look at the different types of services the cloud computing companies in this list offer.

There are mainly three Cloud computing service models:

• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
• PaaS (Platform as a Service)
• SaaS (Software as a Service)

Each of these service models delivers a wide range of benefits. Before you select a cloud computing company, you need to know the difference between all three service models to make the right decision. Let's know each one of them in detail.

Software as a Service (SaaS):

Software as a Service (SaaS) empowers clients to lease or subscribe to software applications and access them online instead of purchasing, installing, and handling them. Currently, SaaS represents a significant market due to the fundamental business technologies offered, such as email, HRM, CRM, Sales, and financial management, Billing, etc. Some leading examples of SaaS cloud computing providers are Oracle, Salesforce, Microsoft, Intuit, etc.

Benefits of SaaS:

• It eliminates the excessive time spent on software installation and configuration, as most SaaS applications can be accessed directly from a web browser.
• It offers a pay-per-use service, which is more cost-efficient than other services.
• It is highly flexible, allowing subscribers to change their usage plan per their requirements.
• It enables users to operate the software from any location.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a highly scalable and automated computing solution provisioned and operated over the Internet. IaaS enables businesses to procure resources as required and on demand instead of buying hardware outright. It offers cloud servers to the organization via a dashboard or an API, which provides the clients with complete control over the infrastructure. However, contrary to SaaS and PaaS, IaaS clients are accountable for dealing with the applications, runtime, OSes, middleware, and system data. 

Benefits of IaaS:

• It is the most flexible cloud computing model, allowing clients to scale the services as needed.
• IaaS makes it easier to automate the deployment of services.
• It is highly affordable and cost-effective.
• Clients maintain complete control over the infrastructure.

Platform as a Service (PaaS):

Platform as a Service (PaaS) offers clients a platform and environment to build applications and services. It delivers a framework for app developers to aid in creating a customized app. The PaaS service providers manage various infrastructural aspects such as networks, operating systems, servers, storage, etc.

Benefits of PaaS:

• It enables rapid prototyping due to the prebuilt backend infrastructure.
• PaaS services are continuously updated, and the newest features are added regularly.
• It reduces the amount of coding, lowering the burden on developers.
• It streamlines the integration of web services and databases.

There are three ways to deploy cloud computing services, viz. Public Cloud, Private Cloud, and Hybrid Cloud. You need to ensure that the cloud computing company you choose follows the right deploying model as per your business requirements.

Public Cloud

The public cloud is one of the most common ways of deploying cloud computing services. In this model, IT services are delivered over the Internet and can be used by multiple clients. These services are charged based on the resources consumed, which can be on a subscription basis, free, or freemium. The functionality may include storage, emails, applications, OS platforms, etc.

Cloud companies recommend public cloud solutions, ideally for predictable computing needs. They also deploy apps and solutions required for IT and business operations, as well as software development and test environments.

Advantages of Public Cloud:

• No investments are required to deploy and maintain the IT infrastructure.
• It offers high scalability and flexibility.
• It reduces IT complexities.
• It has flexible pricing and payment options.

Private Cloud

Private cloud solutions are designed for a specific business or organization. Only company members may access the cloud services and data stored in them. The data center resources can either be managed by autonomous vendors off-site or located on-premise. A private cloud is easily scalable, which is a requisite when dealing with the organization's unique business and security concerns. 

A private cloud is best suited for highly regulated industries such as government agencies. These companies require firm control, high security, and performance over their processes and must opt for a private cloud.

Advantages of Private Cloud:

• Offer dedicated and secure environments that other organizations cannot operate in.
• Highly scalable to comply with unpredictable business demands.
• Excellent SLA performance.

Hybrid Cloud

The hybrid cloud is an efficient combination of private and public cloud systems. The resources are typically organized as an integrated environment. The cloud solutions are segregated over multiple public and private data centers, making hybrid cloud services significantly more reliable. 

Companies with various regulatory, IT security, and performance requirements must invest in the hybrid cloud. Businesses looking for alternatives to improving the security or scalability of their existing cloud computing solutions may also opt for this technology.

Advantages of Hybrid Cloud:

• Because it combines public and private clouds, companies can quickly scale the services according to their requirements.
• Extremely reliable due to the services being spread across multiple private and public data centers.

Below are some qualities you need to look for in your cloud computing service provider:

Smart and Future-Centric: The cloud computing agency you choose should be smart and future-centric enough to have data backup, archiving, and disaster recovery plans in place so that your data is safe at all times.

Easy File Sharing and Access: Your employees should be able to easily share and access files using cloud computing services, enabling them to work flawlessly on their projects and achieve business goals.

Enhanced Scalability: The cloud computing service provider you choose should be able to provide the solutions and tools to meet your growing business demands.

Optimized Resources: Eliminating wastage of resources and helping your business thrive should be the ultimate goal of your cloud computing company.

Before selecting a cloud computing service provider, ensure they follow the latest trends as given below:

AI as a Service

AI-as-a-Service offers readymade AI software, solutions, and APIs hosted on cloud platforms. Integration of AI in cloud computing solutions will see significant growth in the coming years. Enterprises are now opting for AI-as-a-Service which enables them to make the most of AI without having to manage infrastructure and resources. 

Edge Computing

Edge computing refers to establishing a compact computing environment near the data source, which enables real-time data access and analysis, leading to better decision-making. With the increasing use of 5G, edge computing is playing a huge role in providing real-time data and analytical abilities.

IoT

IoT (Internet of Things) requires connecting many sensors that generate huge amounts of data which is stored on cloud servers. IoT integration with cloud computing can help in remotely collecting data and communicating with multiple devices. Thus, this trend will likely improve connectivity between computers, networks, and servers now and in the future.

DevSecOps

DevSecOps is a concept that integrates security with ongoing development process. Many cloud computing companies now offer different tools and services to enable businesses to apply DevSecOps methods to ensure secure system to the developers and customers.

Serverless Computing

Serverless computing refers to innovative methods for creating and operating software applications and services. These methods eliminate the necessity of infrastructure management, allowing users to write and implement code without facing the complexities of underlying systems. This results in less time to market, improved scalability, and decreased deployment costs.

There are several challenges that you may encounter while hiring a cloud computing service provider, like:

Handling Multi-Cloud Solutions

At times, organizations employ a combination of different private and public cloud-based services. These multi-cloud environments can cause complications for the IT team.

To defeat this challenge, businesses must adopt best practices such as thorough research of the products, training employees, actively maintaining vendor relationships, etc. 

Vendor Lock-In

While hiring cloud service companies, businesses need to form an agreement. However, if the experience with the service provider does not meet the client’s expectations, it can be difficult to terminate the partnership. This is called Vendor lock-in. 

Clients must be careful when signing a deal. They must consider how complicated or easy it is to move the workload from the existing service provider to a new partner if necessary.

Integration

Several organizations face complications while introducing new cloud solutions in their business. The main problem could be transferring the existing data into the cloud. Moreover, integrating legal systems and new applications requires time, relevant skills, and resources.

To tackle this situation, businesses must analyze all available viable options before selecting a cloud-based solution. Cloud service companies also play a huge part in resolving these concerns; hence, hire a firm that not only understands your requirements but also suggests the best path to implement the solution.

The selection of a cloud computing services provider also depends on the pricing models they offer. To get the optimized results, you need to make sure that you have chosen the right pricing model.

• Pay-As-You-Go: Users are charged based on the resources they use. This pricing model offers high-end flexibility but can prove to be expensive if the use of resources is more.
• Reserved Instances (RIs): In this plan, the cloud computing company allows their clients to use a specific amount of resources for a longer period at a lower price.
• Spot Instances: Clients can buy unused cloud capacity at a lower cost than normal cost which is ideal for fault-tolerant, non-critical or batch processing tasks.
• Volume Discounts: Many cloud computing companies offer huge discounts in lieu of high volume usage, proving cheaper than the Pay-As-You-Go model.

Besides these pricing models, you also need to check that your cloud computing company offers detailed and clear billing information without any hidden costs.

Hiring a cloud computing consulting service can range from $100 to $149 per hour. The total cost of cloud computing services depends on the complexity of your migration or project. These services range from under $100 to several thousand dollars, depending on the type of cloud computing service you need, like compute, storage, or networking, and whether you require ongoing maintenance or not.

Just shortlist the cloud computing companies that offer services as per your business requirements and consult them to get the exact prices aligning with your budget.

Below are the factors that impact the cost of cloud computing services.

• Usage and Duration: The cost you need to pay for cloud computing services mainly depends on the number of resources you use and for how long you use those resources.
• Services: Whether you need virtual machines, data storage, managed databases, or networking services, the price depends on the type of cloud computing services you need.
• Rebates and Discounts: Many companies offer rebates and discounts for cloud computing services for long-term usage or high-volume use. 
• Migration Complexity: Does your cloud computing project involve a lot of complexity in data migration? If yes, then the price of your cloud computing service can increase.
• Geographic Location: The location of the cloud server hosting your data or services can also impact the cost.
• Pricing Model: Different cloud computing companies follow multiple pricing models for similar services.

Modern businesses are very well aware of the benefits that cloud computing offers, such as cost savings, scalability, security, and flexibility, which make it a must-have for most businesses. However, with numerous providers flooding the space, selecting the right cloud computing provider should be strictly based on certifications, security protocols, reliability, and support standards. 

Also, by understanding the diverse service models, deployment models, and cost factors, businesses can make informed decisions that align with their goals and budgets.