# Cloud Computing Checklist: What to Ask Potential Providers

Source: https://expedient.com/knowledgebase/blog/2014-04-22-cloud-computing-checklist-ask-potential-providers/

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# Cloud Computing Checklist: What to Ask Potential Providers

April 22, 2014 2 min Read

## Questions to Ask Potential Cloud Providers

As your organization looks to a cloud solution provider for services, there are key areas that need to be reviewed. Use this checklist as a guide to help you evaluate any [potential cloud solution providers.](https://www.expedient.com/cloud-computing/ "Cloud Computing")

For additional insights, [Read Expedient’s “Not all Clouds are Created Equal” whitepaper](http://bit.ly/10icJfH)

#### Evaluating technical support

Your cloud is only as strong as the level of support it receives. The [cloud provider’s support staff](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XNasmIJyZrE) needs to have a full understanding of the platforms and applications being run, and there needs to be a defined set of engagement rules for any trouble, regardless of whether it is cloud-related. Support questions to cover include: • Who can you call on with issues? What is their level of technical competence? • What support is provided if you feel an issue may be cloud related?

#### Evaluating audit support

As information technology environments continue to contain more personal, private and sensitive data, there is going to be a growing need to meet certain regulatory standards. Audit support questions to cover include: • What compliance requirements will the Cloud support? • What are the audits that the provider has completed in the last year? • What was the outcome of those audits and are those records available for review?

#### Measuring cloud performance

In order to safeguard against poor performance, it is important to set up a detailed set of performance and criteria metrics. Performance questions to cover include:

- Does the provider offer a monitoring solution that includes an overview for Network Capacity (Mbps), Memory Capacity (GB), Disk Capacity (GB), Disk IO (IOPS) and Compute (Varies)?
- What performance metrics are monitored by the cloud provider?
- What happens when the client or other clients in the environment need more CPU or Disk IO?

While the above is just a sampling of the questions you should ask your cloud provider, Expedient is always ready to answer any question you have. [Contact us today](https://www.expedient.com/support/ "Support") to learn more about our nationwide network of data centers.

Follow him on\_ [_Twitter_](https://x.com/ajkuftic)_._

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 ![AJ Kuftic](https://res.cloudinary.com/dvlpy3tua/image/upload/fl_sanitize/uploads/kuftic-aj.jpg)
AJ KufticPrincipal Product Strategist•Product Strategy

 ](/knowledgebase/blog/authors/aj-kuftic)
[Cloud Computing](/knowledgebase/blog/tag/cloud%20computing)

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