Many cloud management platforms (CMPs) perform the same functions. But they’re not the same. They all started from a different context and built their solutions with specific public and private clouds in mind. Over time, they morphed into their current statuses by considering what customers were demanding.
When evaluating a cloud platform suite for suitability, you must consider your current and target operating environment. Do this with a clear view of the objectives and technical requirements of your enterprise.
It is a bit of a stretch to expect to find the perfect solution for your needs. The best approach would be to find a vendor that is pursuing a strategy similar to the goals and direction of your enterprise. The reason for this is that CMPs are continuing to evolve. You want a solution that will still be relevant to you as it matures.
Today, we’ll help you evaluate whether you have the right cloud platform suite going into 2020 and beyond.
1. Evaluate Your Business Requirements
Customer Needs
The first step is to understand your customers and what their needs are. Determine what kind of cloud platform would serve them best. From this information, you’ll have a list of must-have features to evaluate CMPs against.
Deployment Time
You do not have all the time in the world to deploy a cloud platform suite. You need a solution that will get you up and running as soon as possible. Find out how much customization you need to get the CMP working for your enterprise. Consider installation and integration time as well.
2. Product Requirements
Capabilities
Does the CMP meet the compute, network, and storage needs of your organization? Also, does it provide enough headroom for growth, or will you have to replace it in the future?
Hardware Requirements
Find out whether the CMP will work with existing hardware. You do not want to have to invest in new hardware to make it work for you. Avoid cloud platform suites that lock you into one hardware vendor or can’t work with your existing hardware.
Customization and Federation
How extensible is the CMP? Does it have APIs? Find out whether it supports federation with other providers. You want a solution that gives you the freedom to customize it to your business needs.
Cloud Service Integration
You should be able to integrate new cloud services with existing ones.
3. Support Requirements
Skills
You want a CMP that won’t require too much expertise to deploy, operate, and customize. If you have to hire specialized skills to do basic customization, then the cost may be prohibitive.
Customer Support
The CMP provider should have customer support on hand in case you need help troubleshooting or deploying the platform.
Updates
You want a solution that gets regular updates. It will be more secure and will adapt to the changing business environment faster. Find out how updates take place. If they involve disruption of services, then you might want to give the CMP a wide berth.
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