Distinguishing between Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers has become a veritable headache for organisations seeking to adopt cloud computing.
The increasing number of IaaS vendors offering varied features and unstandardised pricing has made choosing the right provider difficult. When choosing an IaaS provider, factors like where your data is stored, whether the company provides local support, and the price must be considered.
Here are three points to evaluate when looking for an IaaS vendor:
1. Data Sovereignty
Once your data leaves Australia’s shores, you could be violating legal obligations to clients. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose an IaaS provider, which is either transparent about where data is stored, or locally hosts IaaS.
Since the advent of cloud computing, there have been concerns about data sovereignty, with 80% of IT decision makers believing outsourced data should be hosted locally. This is because Australia’s Privacy Act 1988 obliges companies to protect information properly, even when it’s transferred out of Australia.
Organisations storing data offshore are responsible for maintaining compliance with local laws and the laws of the nation where data is stored, since foreign nations have no obligation to comply with Australian law. For example, the United States Patriot Act allows the acquisition of information without a court order and without a person’s consent or knowledge, which could result in seizure of Australian data when hosted in the US.
Since accountability ultimately rests with you, ensure you ascertain where data is stored, how it’s protected, and check conditions comply with government regulation. Alternatively, remove this potential problem altogether and adopt a locally hosted IaaS solution.
Related: Data Sovereignty: the dark legal side to cloud computing
2. Local Support
No international IaaS provider can replicate quality local support. When disaster strikes, it’s critical the support team understands your needs and resolves problems rapidly.
A local team will always be more attuned to the needs and requirements of Australian organisations. Miscommunications will be minimised due to the lack of cultural and language barriers, and face-to-face communications can result in more personalised service.
Any IaaS provider with a local support office should be shortlisted, as fewer communication problems means less downtime and higher productivity.
3. Price
The variety of packages IaaS vendors offer make accurate price comparisons a daunting task. When selecting a provider, organisations must know exactly what resources they require, and do an ‘apples to apples’ price comparison.
Organisations must have a comprehensive idea of their basic compute, storage and networking needs in order to create a valid cost analysis. Since this can be difficult for someone with limited technical understanding, engage an IT consultant to ascertain business requirements, and then compare pricing structure on a line-by-line basis, paying attention to charges buried in fine print.
When collecting quotes from IaaS vendors, always check for unnecessary inclusions and potential discounts. For example, Connecting Up offers a 30% discount off retail pricing for non-profit organisations.
Once you’ve performed a true price comparison, you’ll be able to choose an IaaS vendor capable of matching business needs at lowest cost.
Amazon Web Services vs Microsoft Azure vs Connecting Up IaaS
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Amazon is one of the oldest players in the IaaS market, boasting an incredible range of features and an availability of 99.99, or less than 52.56 minutes per year.
Data Sovereignty: Organisations can control where their data is stored, including the US, Asia Pacific, EU, China and Sydney, Australia. Australians will experience low latency and costs, but since Amazon’s headquarters are stationed in the US, organisations must ensure compliance with US and Australian law is maintained.
Local Support: Sydney’s support office only provides support during Australian business hours. Outside of these times, international support can be provisioned.
Price: Reasonable considering the vast depth and breadth of features AWS IaaS offers. See price comparison table.
However, the comprehensive management console, while offering a rich set of services and monitoring tools, could be overwhelming for inexperienced systems administrators. AWS is suited for organisations willing to pay extra for a wider range of complex features, and aren’t troubled by potential data sovereignty issues.
Microsoft Azure
Organisations opting for Microsoft’s IaaS offering will have the advantage of the familiarity of a Windows interface, as well as 99.9% availability.
Data Sovereignty: Organisations choose where their data is stored. In May last year, Microsoft committed to opening two Australian data centres. These are rumoured to be opening in October 2014.
Local Support: Technical support is provided 24 x 7, although local Australian support is not available.
Price: Windows Azure is the most expensive of IaaS providers reviewed here. See price comparison table.
Windows Azure IaaS has a streamlined management console, which easily integrates with other Microsoft tools, and even provides wizards walking you through multi-step processes. It is ideal for organisations willing to pay premium price for the familiarity of a Microsoft product and who aren’t concerned with local Australian hosting.
Connecting Up IaaS (only available to nonprofits)
Connecting Up has joined forces with R & G Technologies to deliver an affordable, reliable and local Infrastructure to meet the need of the not-for-profit organisations. This discounted IaaS product is perfect for Australian organisations looking for a local IaaS solution supported by an Australian company.
Data Sovereignty: All data is hosted in modern data centres in Brisbane, Australia, ensuring there are no compliance conflicts. Additionally, Connecting Up’s IaaS is certified by the Australian Government Information Office (AGIO).
Local support: Local support is provided around the clock.
Price: Connecting Up’s IaaS offers discounted pricing for non-profit organisations, and works out to be the cheapest option in this review. See price comparison table.
Launched on the Windows Azure platform, Connecting Up IaaS has the scalability, familiarity and support of Microsoft. Connecting Up’s partner, R & G Technologies provides local support and can assist with IT Support, IT Consulting and other Cloud Computing services.
Australian organisations looking for an Australian certified, reliable and affordable IaaS solution need look no further than Connecting Up.
Choose an IaaS provider that meets your needs
Choosing the right IaaS provider rests on you knowing your hosting requirements to simplify the process, and looking beyond a company’s list of cloud services. Look at where data will be stored, the quality of support and best value for services provided.
Remember your organisation’s success relies heavily on high performing systems, so choose an IaaS provider you can trust with your future.
Do you need help evaluating an IaaS solution? We can help you make the move to IaaS. Call us on 1300 562 886 or contact us via this page.