It has been said that we live in an era of infinite choice. From the foods you eat, the shows you watch, to the goods you purchase, the possibilities are endless, and at times so is the confusion. Oftentimes our choice comes down to who is providing the service and where we are getting it from. Do we pick giant platforms backed up by industry titans like Hulu, Spotify and Whole Foods? Is supporting small businesses, such as buying from Etsy stores, watching independent films, and shopping at farmers markets, important to your decision making? It can be a lot to process, at times to the point of anxiety and frustration.
The cloud has gone from a novel idea to upload your personal photos to, to a must have when it comes to backing up your business data. It has been said that over 6 million hard drives crash each year, so not having a cloud backup is basically no longer an option. Choosing a cloud service provider for your business is no different than any of these choices. Do you go with the multi-billion dollar corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google? Do you choose the personalized and localized approach of a company such as Delval
Technology Solutions? Well, it depends on you and what you are looking for. Today we are going to focus on the head to head between your local service provider, and the monolith of business and consumerism that is Amazon.
WHAT IS AWS
AWS stands for Amazon Web Services. Like everything that Amazon does, when they start to see they are spending to much money on an outside service, they move it in house, and then lease it out to others. After encountering problems with the United States Postal Service, they created their own shipping fleets. After realizing they were spending huge sums of money on server fees, Amazon sprung into action and purchased server farms around the globe. From there, to expand on their revenue base, they launched the subsidiary known
as AWS. Using these massive server farms they acquired, Amazon began offering cloud services for businesses of all size across the globe.
WHAT DOES AWS OFFER
AWS is known for it’s ease of use. Similar to Amazon’s other services, they pride themselves on not being to tech heavy and their ability to be understood by businesses ranging from tech novices to experts. Following the playbook utilized by their parent company, AWS strives to be a one stop shop for companies, offering a variety of software, network and analytic tools, and other products to bolster their cloud services. They also offer unlimited bandwidth, which makes scalability much easier, and security services to ensure that
working with them, your data is protected.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
However, Amazon Web Services also has it’s drawbacks. One of the biggest, is their billing system. As a business owner, when you get an invoice, you want to know what you are paying for in an easily digestible manner. It can be frustrating to open up your invoice and see things that you weren’t using being charged to you, obtuse explanation of charges, or being charged for things that you didn’t know were add-ons. These are all complaints that AWS customers have made in regard to their bills.
In the past few years, data mining has gone from a relatively unknown industry term to a part of the cultural lexicon in regards to tech. Privacy concerns of the average citizen when it comes to big tech are mostly, in fact, based on the practice of data mining. As you know, your data is the lifeblood of your business, and is something that you must protect at all costs for the sake of your company and your customers. Unfortunately, one thing AWS doesn’t protect you against is data mining. In fact, they are usually the ones mining your data! Amazon is set up to mine customer data to gauge usage, buying and reviewing habits, geography and income. AWS mines your data in the same way, using their own analytics tools that they are reselling to you. Also, Amazon and AWS have found loopholes that allow them to sell your data to foreign corporations and governments, the same way that personal
consumer data is shown.
Another important thing to remember when it comes to AWS is the scope of the company. AWS has millions of subscribers around the globe. While this can be a good thing on certain issues, it also means that the chances of dealing with someone who knows you, your business, and where your data actually is are slim to none.
WHAT CAN A LOCAL CLOUD PROVIDER DO FOR YOU?
Think of your local cloud provider, such as Delval Technology Solutions, as your favorite family-owned store. While they may not have the same stock of a Wal-Mart or Amazon, they provide other things that these giant conglomerates can’t. Your favorite deli remembers that you want hot peppers, but you hate pickles. The local hardware store owner helped you
handcraft your new deck. Your favorite bartender, well you don’t even have to order, your drink is waiting for you as soon as you make eye contact. A local MSP is no different than any of these local businesses. When you build a relationship with them, they get to know you and you get to know them, personally. More importantly, they get to know your
business. You aren’t just a code on screen being forwarded to some far away call center. You can walk into their office, shake their hand, and speak with them about tech issues that are important to your business. When it comes to advising you on your next steps, your local MSP is doing so with intricate knowledge of your business and your needs, something you can’t get from a giant company.
A company like AWS has server farms all over the globe. While this has it’s benefits in terms of operational scope it has it’s drawbacks as well. One of which is for bringing new clients to the cloud. It can take a new customer more time and headaches to migrate to a gigantic cloud than to a localized cloud. It’s also an issue of comfort. After all, this is your
network, the lifeblood of your business. Not knowing where it’s located can be a cause of anxiety for many. However with a local MSP such as Delval Technology Solutions, knowing where your data is stored and who is watching it is a transparent issue.
Chances are, you aren’t a technological expert. You are however an expert in your field, trusted by your client to handle their needs be it legal, financial or otherwise. It’s fair to say that you want your cloud service provider to be an expert as well. While a company such as AWS may have thousands of employees, they do not have thousands of experts. This can pose an issue while looking for solutions to complex problems regarding your network. A local cloud provider is different. They are experts at their systems, and due
to having a hands on approach, are teeming with solutions to any issue you may face, many times before you even have them.
Finally, and to many most importantly, is cost. Your local cloud service provider understands your budget and works to keep you inside of it while providing you the most “bang for your buck”. They can make sure you are only being charged for what you need, not things you may possibly need in the future.
When it comes to a cloud provider, there are many factors to take into account. What matters to you and your business can be many things. For some it’s cost, for others it’s comfort. Do your research, weigh the pro’s and cons. This will help your business live a long life and not die “death by infinite choice.”