intelligent

This is harder than it sounds . Only cloud companies that can set their own destiny long-term can manage their costs – and their approach to customer service – in this way . Rather than having to find short-term profitability at the expense of customers , this longer-term model is about keeping customers successful over time .

The alternative cloud approach

The cloud computing market essentially breaks down into three areas . There are the hyperscalers that have huge cloud installations with sites across the world and hundreds of different services available – companies such as AWS and Microsoft provide cloud services that enterprises can make use of . While SME teams with technical expertise on staff can use these cloud providers , the majority of SMEs will find they lack support options to suit them .

Alongside these , there are a range of other more traditional enterprise IT companies that have launched their own cloud services in the past . These companies tend to focus on the enterprise as well , offering a mix of their own cloud services and multi-cloud deployments . This group also looks beyond what most SMEs need or require .

for common standards and open source . Using more than one cloud service provides resiliency and redundancy , and it can be used just to reduce cost . The important element here is that multi-cloud does not mean automatically picking two of the big three hyperscalers – there are more alternatives that can fill those roles , making multi-cloud a viable option for SMBs .

Lastly , alternative cloud providers are much more transparent on their pricing . You should not need a full time MBA-level accountant to work out your cloud bill every month .

Blair Lyon , Vice President Cloud Experience , Linode

The third category is the alternative cloud . Alternative cloud providers are hyperscalers that offer commodity cloud services that meet the needs of most SMEs , while also taking a different approach to the bigger hyperscalers or those legacy tech companies .

What sets the alternative cloud providers apart from the others is that they focus on simplicity and ease of use . This does not mean these providers are limited in what they can offer . Instead , they concentrate on the core services and make them easy to consume , including access to APIs , command level interfaces and management services so that SME IT teams can use the services in their own preferred way .

Alongside this , alternative cloud providers can support multi-cloud deployments as well . From a technical perspective , multi-cloud was the preserve of enterprise IT teams that wanted to prevent lock-in to their hyperscale cloud providers . SMEs can benefit from this competition , as it led to more support

Instead , rather than hiding costs or adding surcharges , alternative cloud companies apply a single price for a service that is the same for every region . This makes cloud costs more transparent , so SMEs can plan ahead .

Cloud computing is an essential ingredient in how SMEs can catch up in their markets , improve their business performance and look out for opportunities for growth . However , SMEs require better support and service options around the cloud so they can implement quickly and avoid potential problems . As more SMEs carry out Digital Transformation projects , getting back to the basics of support , service and cost control will help them turn potential into reality . �

WHAT SETS THE ALTERNATIVE CLOUD PROVIDERS APART FROM THE OTHERS IS THAT THEY FOCUS ON SIMPLICITY AND EASE OF USE .