How do you evaluate and compare different cloud service providers and platforms?

1 Cloud service providers

When selecting a cloud service provider (CSP), you should consider factors like security, performance, cost, and support. Security includes the CSP's ability to protect your data and applications from unauthorized access, breaches, and attacks, as well as their security certifications, standards, and compliance requirements. Performance includes the speed and reliability of the CSP's network, storage, and computing resources, as well as scalability, availability, and redundancy. Cost includes the pricing models and options for services offered by the CSP, as well as billing, invoicing, discounts, incentives, and credits. Support includes customer service and technical support from the CSP, communication and resolution of issues and incidents, as well as documentation, training, and guidance.

2 Cloud platforms

When evaluating and comparing different cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or IBM Cloud, you should consider factors such as compatibility, functionality, usability, and community. For example, how compatible is the cloud platform with your existing infrastructure? How comprehensive and diverse is its portfolio of services? How user-friendly and intuitive is its interface? And how active and engaged is its community of developers, users, and partners? These are all important factors to consider when assessing a cloud platform's suitability for your specific use cases and objectives.

3 Cloud models

When evaluating and comparing different cloud models, such as public, private, hybrid, or multi-cloud, you should consider various factors. Security is an important factor to consider in terms of data privacy, confidentiality, integrity, and availability. You should also look at performance in terms of resource utilization, optimization, and allocation. Additionally, you should assess integration in terms of data and application integration, interoperability, and compatibility. Furthermore, you should evaluate the flexibility of the cloud model to adapt to changing demands and conditions. Lastly, the cloud model's consistency in terms of standards, protocols, and formats should be taken into account.

4 Cloud security standards

Different cloud security standards exist to ensure that your cloud security architecture is aligned with the best practices and guidelines in the industry. ISO/IEC 27017 provides guidance on the information security aspects of cloud computing, such as roles and responsibilities, risk assessment, asset management, access control, cryptography, operations security, incident management, business continuity, and compliance. ISO/IEC 27018 offers guidance on the protection of personal data in cloud computing. NIST SP 800-145 provides definitions and descriptions of the essential characteristics, service models, and deployment models of cloud computing. NIST SP 800-53 provides a comprehensive set of security controls and baselines for federal information systems and organizations. Finally, CSA CCM offers a framework of security controls and domains for cloud computing based on industry best practices and standards; it also provides a tool for self-assessment and verification of cloud security compliance.