Tips for Finding the Right Cloud Computing Partner

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As resources become more constrained and IT departments struggle to add business value while maintaining all their existing infrastructures, cloud computing is becoming the top option for many businesses, says Peter Bauer, CEO of Mimecast. He offers a few questions to ponder for those organizations needing to select a cloud partner.

• Is the basic design right? Tight integration of services at the provider level is critical.
• Can the partner lower IT costs long term? Partnering with a cloud provider must, at all times, be a low-commitment relationship.
• Can the partner offer business continuity? A cloud provider must be able to offer constant availability and have rigid service level agreements that back up its assertions.
• Can the partner reduce the cost of e-mail compliance? Partnering with the right cloud provider can substantially reduce the headache of managing and ensuring compliance, by providing an audit trail of all e-mail activity across all user accounts

Here are some cloud computing resources in the Knowledge Network that will help you understand cloud computing and make the transition to the cloud a little easier.

• Cloud Computing Checklist
• "Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise" Excerpt
• "Dot Cloud - The 21st Century Business Platform Built on Cloud Computing" Excerpt