Due Diligence on Cloud and LOB Providers

One of my specialties as an Information Professional involves researching potential Cloud-based and on-premise software, hardware and infrastructure investments for small to medium businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Drawing on my 19 years of owning a Managed IT Services Provider and 15 years as a Journalist, I go as deep as you need on the competing platforms, providers and software to provide the in-depth profile you would want when taking on such a significant partner in your company.

In the first decade of the Millenium, I consulted mostly on on-premise technology projects. In the second decade that evolved to a hybrid of Cloud and on-premises. COVID then hit and forced many businesses to move their technology out of server closets and into the Cloud.

Even though COVID has subsided, that increased Cloud adoption continues as executives and managers recognize the advantages of a remote workforce using Cloud-based applications from anywhere.

A survey by AppDirect reflects that. It found that 56 percent of SMBs use five or more cloud-based applications.

However ...

It also revealed that 52 percent have at least one Cloud application that has not been a good fit for the business. While four successes out of five  seems like a good batting average, we all know the 80 / 20 Rule and how disruptive that 20 percent can be to a small company.

So, given the importance of cloud-based apps to SMB operations, getting the right fit involves performing due diligence. But what does due diligence encompass?

First, you want new technology to be adaptable to your established workflows and operations. That's preferable to adjusting your business to fit the new service. Ideally, it would be designed for your particular industry.

Next, you want it to be intuitive with the shortest learning curve possible. You should get a good feel for that during the demo.

Those would be obvious concerns right off the bat.

But are they enough?

Besides those questions, you need to know the answers to many others before choosing the Cloud provider, Line of Business application or specialty software that will run your company or a key part of it for the foreseeable future. Among them ...

• Where does your data go?
• How is your data backed up?
• How financially stable is the vendor?
• What are the contract terms?
• How ethical is the Cloud provider?
• Can you get your data from the Cloud provider if necessary?
• How good is Support?

We answer these and a number of other questions when we perform in-depth research on each of the potential Cloud or on-premise software, hardware and infrastructure providers under consideration. 

To set up a Reference Interview on the questions you have about investing in new technology for your business, contact me at 302-537-4198, ericm@edminfopro.com or on our Contact form.