Any service that offers computing systems on-demand can be referred to as Cloud Services.  Cloud Service Providers have completely changed how businesses are managed. By providing cloud services, they ensure a fast and secure mode of data transaction.  

Prominent conglomerates around the world now primarily use cloud services to enhance their business models. These services also encourage start-ups as they are easy to access. 

What is a Cloud Service Provider 

By using private data centers and computing resources, Cloud service providers can host cloud platforms that allow a myriad of services to customers. CSPs or Cloud Service Providers are essentially companies that provide cloud computing services through software, infrastructure management, or other platforms.  

These cloud service providers are usually subscription-based so customers can pay as they go. The customers are charged according to the services they are provided. The amount of time and storage a customer uses is added to the pricing. 

Pros and Cons of Using a Cloud Service Provider 

Cloud services are provided through complicated means. Everyone has different experiences when using these service providers. Along with the benefits, the cloud service providers may have some downsides as well.  

Pros: 

• Organizing customers with different business demands can easily adjust the scale of their IT resources based on their needs. 
• Cloud service providers are generally subscription-based. Meaning the customers only have to pay for the services they consume and nothing in addition to it. The need for IT equipment is also alleviated through cloud services. 
• Disaster recovery is simple and dependable when it comes to cloud computing. 
• The resources and services can be accessed easily and efficiently from almost any location. This eliminates the need for transportation costs for equipment. 

Cons: 

• Data migration through cloud services often takes up a huge amount of time. This may become an issue for bigger companies that have to deal with larger portions of data. These relay periods can set back business operations for days or weeks at a time. 
• Unreliable cloud service providers sometimes do not hold accountability for outages and performances. This can prove to be cumbersome to the customer organizations. 
• Cloud security is one of the major downsides of any service provider. Customers have to entrust their valuable data to the providers, which risks their security. On top of that, providers are sometimes deceptive about their security protocols. 
• The paperwork customers have to go through in order to get cloud services can sometimes be bothersome. Complicated contract terms are expected when ensuring service-level agreements. Failing to negotiate could lead to the customers having to pay high prices or risk termination of their services. 

How to Evaluate Cloud Service Security 

In order to get the best cloud service experience, you have to first choose the best cloud service provider. Here's how: 

Checking the Framework: 

The cloud service provider must commit to certain security standards. Some of the ones you have to look out for are ISO 27001:2013, ISO 27002, ISO 27018, and ISO 217001. They indicate whether or not the provider practices proper security measures. Government protocols must also be considered as well as SOC2 Compliance of the used data processors.

One of the stricter regulated regions is Europe therefore even US customers may benefit from using US cloud service providers that not only adhere to US regulation but also to EU-GDPR.

Authentication and identity Controls: 

Data migration can sometimes cause security breaches. Transaction of data through the cloud grants access to information on-demand, which means the employees can access it from any location. This can easily be abused.  

To prevent this, you have to ensure that the provider offers MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication). Monitoring identities in real-time can also be proved useful.  

Better solutions will provide support for single sign-on using different platforms like Microsoft, Google and others. This will ideally be combined with 2FA.

Internal Resource Management: 

The customers' data must be stored and managed with the utmost care. The cloud service provider must ensure that their resources are being utilized in order to keep the data of their clients safe. 

Data Centres: 

Where the service providers store their clients' data is important to look into. These locations are usually classified. Specialized IoT should be used in the facilities to guarantee its protection from accidents. The security of the client's privacy depends on whether or not these locations can be accessed easily.  

The location of data centers also influences the kind of business you can conduct through their services. 

Service-Level Agreements: 

SLA or service-level agreements are the terms that are agreed upon between the customer organization and the service provider. 

Looking into the SLAs is necessary as it consists of all the services and how they are going to be provided. The reliability and governance also reflect on the SLA of the provider. 

Data Recovery Protocols: 

Backup systems have to be put up to guarantee the safety of the data that's being stored. Outages and system failure can happen unexpectedly, which can be a disaster if a proper backup system isn't set up.  

You have to make certain that the cloud service providers have sufficient means of recovering data. 

Uptime Performance: 

Cloud Service Providers often suffer from outages and performance drops. This can affect the clientele and their businesses. One small outage can cause weeks' worth of delay in a business if the timing is unfortunate enough. 

Check the resolution time and their uptime metrics to minimize the damages done during these performance drops.  

Conclusion 

Security is a major concern when using cloud services. These services let us easily migrate data, but it can breach our privacy if we don't choose the right service provider. Being able to outsource data can bring about many advantages in a business. Yet the responsibility of storing and transacting crucial data cannot be outsourced.