02-23-22 | Blog Post

What to Consider When Choosing a Compliant Cloud Provider

Blog Posts

When it comes time to choose a compliant cloud provider to host your most mission critical business there are multiple things to consider. Understanding what to look for can be a difficult, but taking the time to properly vet a provider is important, especially when you are subject to industry regulatory requirements. Cloud providers come in all shapes and sizes, let’s unpack the essential things to consider when choosing a vendor

 

Understand your Organization’s Needs

 

First and foremost, your decision depends on your specific business needs and industry requirements. Take a moment to understand which compliance standards are required for your business, as well as the industry(s) your organization operates in.

 

Evaluate Compliance Certifications

 

Now you’re ready to start your search for a provider. You are going to want to evaluate a vendor that maintains multiple industry standard certifications. Maintaining more than one compliance means that they have undergone multiple audits and assures that their practices align with the requirements of the certification. There are many compliances that can be required depending on what kind of information a business interacts with. Companies must act in compliance of these standards, or risk hefty fines. Here are a few critical compliances to consider:

 

PCI DSS – the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, is required for all businesses that accept, process, store or transmit credit card information. This includes a wide range of diverse industries. You can read more about data compliances related to financial services here.

 

HIPAA – the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act – governs the security of sensitive patient data. HIPAA is most commonly applied to healthcare providers, health insurance firms, private practices and similar organizations.

 

SOC 1 and 2 – System Organizational Controls 1 and 2 are in place to more rigorously protect sensitive data, and provides transparency across organizations that interact with financial data.

 

ISO 27001 – Is a framework of policies, aimed at better protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.

 

HITRUST –  Is another framework that guides organizations interacting with healthcare data in bolstering security and exhibiting industry best practices.

 

Identify The Right Solutions

 

Next, you’ll want to seek a provider that has multiple cloud solutions, including:

 

Private Cloud

Public Cloud

Hybrid Cloud

Managed Cloud

And Colocation

 

Multiple cloud deployment options give your organization the flexibility to choose the solutions that are right for your business now, and as it evolves. Leveraging a provider with multiple geographically diverse loud locations ensures redundancies and mitigates the risk of natural disasters having an impact on your data.

Consider Longevity

 

Another key factor when choosing a cloud provider is longevity. You’ll want to trust your data to a company with a proven track record and bright future. Seek out a financially sound, long-term partner with whom you can entrust your growing business data for the years to come.

 

Security Policies and Services

 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, your cloud provider should have multiple supporting security services.

 

These include:

 

Managed Firewall

Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems IDS/IPS

Antivirus

File Integrity Monitoring

Central Logging

Vulnerability Scanning

Daily Log Review

Patch Management

Secure Backups

Disaster Recovery

Web Application Firewall

Two Factor Authentication

 

The Bottom Line

 

If you’re looking for a compliant cloud provider, we’re here to help. Otava has been providing compliant cloud solutions since 2012 and continues to aggregate best-of-bread cloud technologies around the world. Our low latency network extends to 21 geographically diverse data centers around the world, and Otava provides supporting security services to all of our cloud solutions, ensuring your data is always secure and accessible.

 

All of the factors mentioned above should be considered when choosing a compliant cloud provider, and Otava is here to help you find the solutions that are right for your business. When it comes to compliance, you can’t leave anything to risk – contact your Otava rep today to make sure you ace your next audit. For more info – watch our video below!

 

 

 

 

 

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