7 Factors to Consider When Choosing an AWS Partner
Choosing an AWS Partner for your enterprise can be difficult for numerous reasons. You want someone who is going to get up to speed fast and provide value as quickly as possible. Also, you want to know you are working with a company that has support and services in place before you have a problem.
There are over 40,000 AWS partners; so how do you know who to work with and which ones are best for your business? When selecting an AWS partner there are many considerations you should make before selecting one. The majority of these considerations fall into one of the categories below.
Factors to Consider When Choosing an AWS Partner?
When choosing who should you be developing your business in the cloud with, or who should you be pouring plenty of money into through consulting or other services, a lot needs to be taken into account. Here are some factors to consider:
1. Cloud Security
Choosing an AWS Cloud Security consultant is not a task any newbie would do. There are many obvious reasons for this. First, you want someone who knows how to handle your AWS infrastructure because that is the core of your company. Second, if you choose wrong it can lead to more than just wasted money; it can lead you to an outage.
The cloud promises to drive the next generation of tech advancement, but only if it is properly secured. AWS Cloud Security consultant can help your organization unlock the full potential of the cloud without putting sensitive data at risk.
2. Cloud Compliance
When it comes to choosing a partner for AWS Cloud Compliance, you must be careful and consider several factors. Nevertheless, I still recommend that you start the process sooner than later. However…there’s always a “however” isn’t there? =)
Compliance. One of those pesky things that you never get to completely ignore. But it still has the potential to hamper your business and productivity more than anything if you don’t handle it correctly.
Choosing the best AWS Cloud Compliance partner means a lot of things. It’s important to have partners that really understand all the nuances and details of meeting regulations for big brands. Your business could be among them one day.
3. Experience
When building an application on AWS you want a partner with experience. Going at it alone is always challenging, plus what happens if something goes wrong? What if there’s an emergency and you need help urgently, who will be there to answer the call? This is where experts come into play; this is who can help you when problems arise.
Choosing an AWS partner with experience and expertise can help your organization become compliant sooner, foster productivity, and implement the right controls to address your risk management issues.
4. Architecture
Finding a cloud partner who understands architecture is harder than you think. Sure, they may tell you they understand it.. but do they REALLY? You might say AWS Architecture best practices are easy to follow, but when push comes to shove how do you know if the firm helping you with your cloud architecture really knows what they’re doing?
The most important factor in choosing an AWS partner is ensuring that they understand your architecture. If they don’t, you can be certain that they will not be able to architect a cloud solution for you. Working with a provider who understands your infrastructure and works with you to use AWS resources in concert with your existing environment will save you time and money, and reduce the likelihood of project failure. If a partner isn’t able to do that, even if it’s just a few meetings, move on to someone else who has that expertise.
5. Service Levels
With hundreds of AWS providers and a wide selection of price points, service levels, and package offerings, choosing an AWS partner can feel daunting. To ensure you don’t get lost in the cloud, take the time to do your research. And remember, Cloud Service Level Agreements are the best way to protect your business from unforeseen issues so you can focus on what matters most: delivering results for your clients.
That way, you are looking into a contract that ensures your service will never go down. As with anything in life, I’d expect there to be variations in the quality of service you receive. But that aside, if you do sign a contract and your service goes down, the provider will be legally obligated to resolve the issue. This is important because when it comes to cloud services, there is often no one to call at 3 AM when something breaks
6. Support
When you are ready to start a project with AWS, it is vital to find a partner that can offer the speed and cost you want. It is also a good idea to ask how quickly the partner will get your business back up after an outage or security breach. You put a lot of sensitive data on AWS so protecting your company needs to be a top priority when you are choosing your partner. Also, ask them if they will help you secure all the applications you need so data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
No two customers are alike, so they should be treated individually. A partner’s ability to understand your requirements and in turn, offering solutions that meet those requirements is what will help create a meaningful partnership with you.
7. Costs
Cost should be only one of the concerns when choosing a partner and must be weighed against their expertise with Amazon Web Services. The best partners offer solutions that scale and extend beyond just cost savings. These companies not only help save money but also can reduce the workload and time it takes to develop effective solutions on AWS. By partnering with the right AWS partner, your project can give you more time to focus on other things while your partner handles the heavy lifting of cloud computing.
Before choosing an AWS partner, make sure to know what your needs are. If you already have an AWS account, then your chances of finding the right partner who is cost-efficient are higher. The process also depends on your needs and personality. If you can communicate with a partner before signing a contract, then that relationship is likely to be more fruitful.
Conclusion – Choosing an AWS Partner
When choosing an AWS consulting partner, be sure to consider the factors listed above. You will likely have multiple providers to choose from, which does not make the selection process any simpler. The more time you spend doing your due diligence, the less likely it is that you will choose a provider who can’t meet your business needs.
When choosing an AWS partner, you should consider many factors. Does the company have a track record of serving clients in similar industries? Speaking on behalf of Lineocode, we specialize in enterprise architecture and multi-region deployments and we have built a team with a broad set of technologies and business areas. You can contact us to know what we have done for other clients and what we can do for you.