When thinking about moving your data and applications to the cloud, it's crucial to ask the right questions to ensure you get the best service for your business. Here are some key areas to consider.
Security and Data Protection
Understanding how and where your data is stored is vital. Here are some questions to ask:
- Location: Where is my data stored? Is it within Australia?
- Access: Who can access my data? Be aware that some US companies might be required to provide access to your data even if it's stored in Australia.
- Privacy Policies: What are their privacy policies and breach reporting procedures?
- Data Redundancy: What levels of data redundancy do they offer?
- Backups: How is my data backed up, and how can I access those backups?
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
A solid SLA is crucial for ensuring reliable service. Look for:
- Uptime Guarantees: What is their guaranteed uptime? For instance, 99.95% uptime allows for about 22 minutes of downtime per month.
- Penalties and Claims: What penalties are in place if they fail to meet the SLA, and how can you claim them?
- Exclusions: What events are excluded from the SLA?
Access to Support
Good support can make or break your cloud experience. Consider:
- Support Hours: What are the support hours?
- Access Methods: How can you access support (phone, email, web form)?
- Response Times: What are their response and restoration times?
- Escalation Process: Is there a documented process for escalating issues if you're not satisfied with the support?
- Account Management: is there a dedicated person responsible for your experience and able to direct enquiries?
Legislative Requirements
Ensure compliance with Australian laws, especially regarding privacy and data location:
- Privacy Act: Some businesses have legal requirements about where data can be stored.
- Foreign Providers: Be aware of any foreign legislative requirements that might impact your data's security and privacy.
- Data Encryption: Some industries have requirements for data encryption both over the network and when stored
How Microsolve can help
Microsolve has extensive experience in providing secure, high-availability hosted services to businesses across Australia. Being Australian-owned and operated, we ensure that our facilities and support teams are local, addressing many of the concerns mentioned above.
We'd love to discuss how we can assist you on your cloud journey, whether you're just starting or already well-established. Our goal is to add value to your organization and help you navigate this exciting path.