The right partner can provide guidance, ensure a smooth migration, optimise cloud operations and deliver a competitive advantage. Conversely, the wrong choice can lead to unexpected costs, security vulnerabilities and a less than ideal user experience. This guide is designed to help you make an informed decision when choosing a cloud consulting partner, even if you are new to the cloud.

‍

1. Defining Your Business Objectives

You don't want a good cloud solution because it's new and trendy. There is a business purpose behind it that you can probably describe very well, here are some examples:

• Increase scalability? Do you need to adapt quickly to changing requirements without investing heavily in infrastructure? Move to the next market?
• Optimise cost efficiency? Want to reduce IT spend by paying only for the resources you use?
• A happier development team? Release new versions of your application regularly, without outages and automatically?
• Improve security? Strive for better privacy, activity logging and compliance with industry regulations?

‍

A good partner will take you from a business requirement to a technology solution. That's why it's important to clearly define your business goals before embarking on a journey to the cloud. By articulating your goals, potential partners will understand your needs and be able to tailor their services accordingly.

2. Expertise, Experience, and Efficiency

When evaluating potential cloud consulting partners, consider their expertise, experience and effectiveness.

• Has a track record: Look for a partner with a track record and proven history of successfully implementing cloud solutions for businesses or pain points similar to yours. Review their case studies and references to assess their capabilities.

• References: For large and complex solutions, it is common to ask existing customers for references. Focus on what the process was like with the partner, whether expectations were met and whether they would do it again.

• Extensive experience: Prioritise partners with extensive and proven experience as they can anticipate challenges, offer valuable advice and provide solutions tailored to your specific needs. Experienced partners bring a wealth of knowledge and best practice to the table.

3. Security and Compliance

It's common for your most valuable assets to be data in the cloud, so you need to protect them as best you can. That's why security and compliance need to be top priorities when choosing a cloud consulting partner. Your partner should demonstrate a deep understanding of security best practices and compliance requirements relevant to your industry.

• Industry standards: Make sure the partner complies with mandatory industry guidelines and laws, such as HIPAA and GDPR.
• Data Processing: Review the partner's history, trackable misconduct such as processing GDPR, or security incidents.
• Comprehensive solutions: A trusted partner will offer comprehensive solutions for access control, data encryption and routine compliance checks. It may offer regular audits, pentesting, etc.
• Shared responsibility: Understand the cloud partner's role in security scenarios, including prevention, control and recovery. Ensure that your existing security policies are tailored to the cloud environment and include mechanisms for network, platform, host, application, database and storage security.

A good partner will understand your security needs and be proactive in making recommendations. They can provide you with valuable information about the capabilities of not only your infrastructure, but also your application.

4. Service Agreements and Legal Compliance Defining the Terms of Engagement

Carefully review cloud partner service agreements to ensure they are legally compliant. These documents outline the responsibilities, obligations and expectations of both parties.

• Contract review: Ensure that the contracts meet your organisation's needs and all legal requirements. That they really cover the activities you require from your partner.
• Liability and data ownership: Look for provisions on liability for breach or failure of service, as well as data ownership and confidentiality.
• Compliance with standards: If your business requires specific standards and their requirements, find out how they will be met and specified in the contract.
• Scope of service: Make it clear in the contract what is included in the standard scope of services and what is not and can therefore be charged extra.

5. Range of Services Offered: A One-Stop Shop for Your Cloud Needs?

Take a good look at the breadth and depth of the partner's services. Do you need a highly specialised partner or a comprehensive one? A comprehensive cloud partner should be a Swiss army knife, offering a range of services that address the different needs you are likely to encounter in the cloud:

• Architectural design: design a cloud infrastructure that meets your business needs?
• Cloud Migration: Seamlessly move your applications and data to the cloud?
• Building Security: Implement robust security measures to protect your cloud environment? Identify and remediate potential security vulnerabilities?
• Optimisation: Customise your solution to make the most efficient use of the cloud's capabilities.
• Ongoing support: can include business continuity support if your business requires it.
• DevOps automation: can help you automate your processes to make software development and deployment more efficient.
• Data Analytics: Can it extract valuable insights from your cloud applications and suggest improvements and optimisations based on those insights?

A good partner will design an appropriate architecture, guide you through migration and application onboarding, and ensure smooth operations, including future updates and enhancements.

6. Technical Support: Your Lifeline in the Cloud

Depending on the level of collaboration you have with the partner, you will also need to set up an appropriate technical support model. If the partner only has an advisory role and the day-to-day operations are left to you, the requirements will not be as high. If the partner is managing the entire platform or solution to you, the opposite is true.

• Is it available 24/7: Look for a partner that is available 24/7 so that you can address issues immediately.
• Responsiveness: What is their response time? Make sure it offers a fast service and has a good flow of information between its staff. You don't want to have to explain who you are and what the problem is every time there is an incident.
• Communication channels: A good partner will offer you a communication channel of your choice: is it Slack, email or phone?
• Proactive monitoring: A reliable partner will impose a good level of monitoring when designing the solution and the collaboration, so that you are aware of any problem and receive an appropriate alert. The problem should be identified and resolved early, before it affects your business.

7. Partnerships and Certifications: Validation of Expertise

Is your chosen partner a leader in its field? How is it perceived by the community, other partners or the cloud provider itself? Do they recommend them?

• Certifications: Look for certifications relevant to your cloud provider. Look closely at the level of expertise that is relevant to you. It's one thing to have them in your organisation, it's another to have them working with you. 
• Partnerships: The relationship with a cloud provider such as AWS, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure has its own level of partnership. Additional competencies and specialisations can be acquired within the partnership. Check how the partner is presented on the cloud provider's website. Do they have other activities, awards or case studies in common with interesting customers? Don't be surprised if, after contacting the cloud provider, they recommend top partners that match your segment and needs.

8. Overall Performance: Can They Deliver?

Take a step back and look at your partner as a whole. Evaluate your partner's overall effectiveness. Is he or she the one who can really help you? Does he or she have the necessary expertise? Were you convinced by their references and were you able to get on with them? Can they offer the workload, platform scalability and solution flexibility you need?

If you have any doubts, get them answered and resolved before you start working with them.

9. Non-Technical Factors: The Human Element

When choosing a cloud consulting partner, don't overlook the importance of non-technical factors. A lot can be learned from communication or initial meetings.

A partnership can last several years, and the partner is really another leader on the team. Consider cultural fit, including shared values and alignment with your organisation's goals and work ethic.

How are fairness, openness, and transpartnership culturally relevant to you? Do you know his values and he knows yours?

10. Cost Transparency: Avoiding Hidden Surprises

The price of the cloud can fluctuate according to usage. But for a partner's services, it should be fixed and predictable.

11. Business Health and Processes: Ensuring Long-Term Viability

The partner should be stable and should be in a good financial position with sufficient capital to operate successfully in the long term.

Check the reputation of the provider, its partners and the level of experience with cloud services.

Questions that can be helpful in your selection of a cloud partner.

• Does the cloud consulting partner understand your business objectives, such as increasing scalability, improving security, optimizing cost efficiency, or streamlining operations?
• Do they understand your business, industry, geography, and ethos?
• Can they customize their services to meet your specific needs?
• What is the cloud consulting partner’s track record, and how long have they been in the market?
• Can the cloud consulting partner provide case studies and client references to gauge past performance and satisfaction?
• Does the cloud consulting partner have experience implementing cloud solutions for businesses similar to yours?
• What is their proficiency with major cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud?
• What services does the cloud consulting partner offer, such as cloud migration, architectural design, and security setup?
• Can the cloud consulting partner customize their services to fit your organization’s specific requirements?
• Does the cloud consulting partner offer specialized services such as DevOps automation, security assessments, and data analytics?
• What security precautions does the cloud consulting partner take to protect your data and infrastructure?
• Do they offer all-inclusive solutions for access control, data encryption, and routine compliance checks?
• Are the cloud consulting partner’s data loss and breach notification processes aligned with your organization’s risk appetite and legal/regulatory obligations?
• What is the cloud consulting partner’s pricing and cost structure, including fees for scaling?
• Do they offer tailored cost-saving strategies and flexible payment plans?
• Does the cloud consulting partner offer a clear and transparent cost structure without hidden charges?
• What level of technical assistance does the cloud consulting partner offer, including 24/7 support and well-informed personnel?
• What communication channels are available for support, such as chat, email, and phone?
• Does the cloud consulting partner provide a clear definition of service and deliverables in their SLAs?
• Does the provider have a track record of stability and sufficient capital to operate successfully long term?
• What are the cloud service provider's relationships with key vendors, their accreditation levels, technical capabilities, and staff certifications?

Summary

Choosing the right cloud partner is an important decision with long-term implications. A good partner is not just a supplier, but a trusted ally who understands your goals and helps you achieve them. Imagine a partnership that lasts for years, where the partner actively contributes to your growth, innovation and success in the cloud environment. Such a partner will save you time, money and worry, while giving you access to the latest technologies and best practices.

An investment in a quality cloud partner will pay for itself many times over. Instead of constantly troubleshooting and putting out fires, you'll have the peace of mind to focus on your core business. A partner can help you optimise costs, increase security and keep your cloud operations running smoothly. Ultimately, the right partner can help you realise the full potential of the cloud and take your business to the next level.

‍