How do you compare Cloud Hosting Providers??

[Niklas]

Hello!
Given the new buzz word "cloud" is thrown around a lot, there needs to be some sort of resource that can educate and be referred to by users seeking cloud hosting.

How should you compare cloud hosting providers?
What makes one cloud host better than another?
Is it important to know whom they use for their cloud 'backbone'?
How secure is your data?
Is the cloud only a small group of computers or an actual commercial cloud?

Can anyone please share some tips, plus information on how to evaluate and best determine which cloud host is best to their needs? e.g. The right questions to ask and how to evaluate a provider's service?

[wesen]

It's not easy to compare hosting providers. First you have to identify what's the most essential criteria for you and your business.

This can be security, cost, uptime, ability to scale, support, technology used, etc. Start from there.

For example, do you need a managed server or an unmanaged server?
How much support are you expecting?
Are there any specific technical requirements that you need?
Do you need services in a particular location?

For example, one provider might charge $20 for a VPS server, while another provider might charge $50 for a VPS with more resources. However, the one with $20 might not offer any support or any backups/monitoring. Now, if support is not something that you need and the $20 VPS provider has good reviews, give them a try. Always make sure you have backups though! If not with the provider, then local backups, or even better, both! Chances are, you'll need a backup when you less expect it.

1. So find out what your top priorities are and check which providers can match those requirements.
2. Look at reviews on trusted websites. Watch out though. Many websites have fake reviews these days. I would look at trusted websites such as G2, TrustPilot, Hostadvice. Look at the reviews over a long period of time with a focus on more recent ones. Another thing I learned is that no provider should have only positive reviews. If all reviews are good, there's a high chance they might be fake. See if the users have pictures/domains etc., how detailed the reviews are.

[robiro1]

I would take a look at the CPU (Dedicated or not), RAM (Speed, DDR4 vs DDR3), Disk (maximum number of random read/write IOPS, sequential read/write), and Network Performance (maximum speed, latency, stability in the weekends, DDos Protection). Then I would compare the cost and choose the best offer.

[naba_dajani]

Hello!
Given the new buzz word "cloud" is thrown around a lot, there needs to be some sort of resource that can educate and be referred to by users seeking cloud hosting.

How should you compare cloud hosting providers?
What makes one cloud host better than another?
Is it important to know whom they use for their cloud 'backbone'?
How secure is your data?
Is the cloud only a small group of computers or an actual commercial cloud?

Can anyone please share some tips, plus information on how to evaluate and best determine which cloud host is best to their needs? e.g. The right questions to ask and how to evaluate a provider's service?

It's difficult to compare hosting companies. You must first determine what the most important criteria are for you and your company.

This can include things like security, cost, uptime, scalability, support, and technology employed. Then go from there.

Do you require a managed or unmanaged server, for example?
What kind of help are you anticipating?