Is your business among the many New Zealand companies expanding to the cloud? Then this guide is for you. Cloud migrations are complex projects and often, the lack of specialist expertise acts as the biggest obstacle for successful cloud migrations.

The right partner will have the tools and the knowledge to analyse your business’ app dependencies, assess the feasibility of migrating an on-premises system, execute the cloud migration and comprehensively monitor the systems post-migration.

So how do you select the right partner amongst the many cloud service providers in NZ? Here are 5 questions to consider,

1. Do they have experience using the cloud platform you need?
2. How happy are their other clients?
3. Do they have experience working within your industry?
4. Are they connected with other vendors?
5. Do their SLAs prioritise client requirements?

Do they have experience using the cloud platform you need?

If you have already narrowed down on the cloud platform you want, it’s recommended that you select a service provider that specialises in that specific migration platform. You can find this out by searching the top partners in the platform’s partner registry. For example, NSP is a platinum partner of Extreme Networks Solutions, one of the leading end-to-end, cloud-driven networking solution providers in the world.

If you still haven’t decided upon the cloud platform you want, a great cloud partner will assist you in finding the best platform for you.

At NSP, we do this with an initial assessment, where we work with your team in a series of collaborative workshops to identify the specific needs of your business.  Based on this assessment, a clear business case would be developed to illustrate how the key workloads and business applications would be moved to the cloud. 

In addition to the above, we can help

•   Replace or rearchitect/rewrite existing applications that can’t be moved to the cloud.
•   Establish KPIs and baselines.
•   Use industry best practices to solve any issues arising during the cloud migration project.

How happy are their other clients?

The best way to determine the expertise and reputation of a cloud partner is to read client testimonials and reviews. Go through their social media profiles and check Google reviews to see what their clients are saying. What kind of clients have they worked with? – SMEs or large-scale businesses, types of industries…etc. 

Do they have experience working within your industry?

Each industry has its own set of rules and regulations and it’s imperative that you find a cloud partner who is already familiar with your industry and knows how to develop your cloud system while maintaining your compliance. 

Here’s what to ask your cloud partner,

•   Have you worked together with a company that’s within the same industry and were they of the same size?
•   What were the common challenges that came up in that migration project and what measures did you take to solve them?

Once, you get the answers to the above you can get a fair idea of the partner’s cloud migration services and if they can take on the project.

For over 2 decades, NSP has been working with hundreds of NZ businesses from various industries including healthcare, legal, finance, utilities, and manufacturing, to name just a few. Our cloud specialists are well versed in the strict guidelines to follow for each industry, especially for industries like healthcare, where sensitive data is involved.

Are they connected with other vendors?

A sign of a good cloud partner is their relationships with other vendors. This can indicate their delivery techniques and organisational structure which you can assess match your needs.

Consider the below,

•   Certifications and accreditations of the business and its employees.
•   Do they facilitate a multi-vendor cloud environment?
•   What are their technical competencies?

Do their SLAs prioritise client requirements?

From the start of the project, the cloud partner needs to provide a clear breakdown of what the service includes and the deliverables. Complex SLAs (service level agreements) signal a lack of control and proper processes which can lead to late or incorrect delivery later.

The ideal SLA for a cloud migration would include, 

•   Response time and how they would acknowledge any issues.
•   How long they would take to resolve an issue and what the process is.
•   Escalation pathway and timings.

Make Your Business Cloud Smart with Network Service Providers

Finding the right partner is crucial to the success of your cloud migration project. Network Service Providers (NSP) has been helping hundreds of NZ businesses move to the cloud smoothly, securely and without hassle with our proven approach, and we can help your business too. 

Book a complimentary consultation with one of our cloud specialists where you can discuss,

•   Your current cloud concerns
•   Which of your on-premise solutions need to be moved to the cloud
•   Find out about current cloud trends
•   Get insights into what a cloud roadmap might look like
•   Get advice on security or disaster recovery concerns you may have about cloud