For smaller companies and businesses that take a little more time to adapt to the latest technologies immediately, the idea of switching over to the cloud can be pretty intimidating. However, the benefits of storing your data and information on a cloud computing server far outweigh any growing pains your company might experience with the new technology.

So once you’ve decided that your company would benefit from switching over to a cloud computing solution, it’s time to decide which cloud service is right for its unique needs. Because cloud services are highly customizable, it can be confusing to figure out what your company needs.

To help, here are the top three things you should always consider when trying to select the best cloud computing solutions for your company’s unique needs:

Choose between private cloud vs. public cloud

Simply put, a public cloud computing provider stores multiple customers’ information on one server — meaning it is a shared server. Public cloud is usually less expensive, but offers slightly less security. A private cloud solution allots one individual server for each customer, meaning your company will have its very own server, which allows for heightened security but usually costs more.

Choose between IaaS vs. SaaS

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a self-service cloud model that offers hardware and storage on a pay-as-you-go basis — examples of IaaS include Amazon’s Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Software as a Service (SaaS), however, is the remote storage of software on remote hardware; this allows workers to use a software interface from any computer — Google’s GMail is a prime example. It’s important to figure out which of these two types of cloud solutions will work best for your company.

Select a cloud service with adequate security

Security is rightly one of the top concerns for any company that chooses to store its data on a computer server. The best cloud computing providers will offer industry-standard security measures for each of its customers, including multi-layered encryption, firewalls, identity management and more to defend against data breaches and cyber attacks.

Is your company already switched over to the cloud? Share your tips for finding the best cloud hosting with us and your fellow readers by leaving a comment below. References.