Cloud Platform Solutions Buyer’s Guide Includes a Category Overview, Top 10 Questions to Ask, Plus, a Capabilities Reference of the Leading 24 Providers for Cloud Platforms Cloud Platforms 2017 Buyer’s Guide anagement INTRODUCTION: Many have predicted that 2017 will be the year of the cloud. In a market where new solutions are constantly pouring down the enterprise, we’ve created this guide to help you pick the right vendor from under the cloud umbrella. We have 24 options for you to choose from, including big names you’ve heard of plus some up and coming organizations we believe could be the right fit for you. For many years, “cloud computing” was the way to go, with Software as a Serve (SaaS) application model being the go-to for most enterprises. However, other models have shown significant growth, and made a name for themselves in this space, including: Application Platform as a Service (aPaaS) – which is a cloud service that offers development and deployment environments for application services; infrastructure-as-a- Service (IaaS) – which provides access to hardware, network, and physical resources; and Platform-as-a- Service (PaaS) – which provides a more comprehensive stack of solutions including databases, operating systems, development tools and middleware. In a digital, as-a-service world, enterprises that have implemented these solutions have also extended their value. The benefits of a cloud platform are worth researching, wheteher you are a publicly traded corporation, a government institution or a small to medium sized business, and there is a solution for everyone in this Buyer’s Guide. You will not find any rankings here, opur goal is to provide you with enough information to make a solid business decision that will ultimately increase your bottom line. To get started in the research phases, we included 24 vendor profiles along with 10- question: five to ask yourself and the remainder aim to help you decide what to ask a prospective solution provider. Our services don’t stop here. We also have a specific selection of our site deicated to the cloud along with a weekly video series and various other resources. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need any additional assistance. Ashley Troutman Host, Editor Solutions Review [email protected] © 2017 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 2 Cloud Platforms 2017 Buyer’s Guide anagement 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Selecting a Cloud Platform Solution QUESTION #1 What are my security needs? How critical is the data you’ll be pumping through that cloud infrastructure and platform? Additionally, how is the potential new cloud platform planned to connect with other aspects of your business and technology environment, potentially creating new gateways for malicious attacks? Is the platform’s architecture such that security can be built into the solution? These answers can help you determine how much you will need to invest into security to ensure your new cloud platform dream doesn’t become a nightmare. QUESTION #2 Where is the value-add in my business, both now and in the future? Businesses should maintain internal capability in areas where they have the most value-add. This way you can maintain in-house expertise needed to maintain your competitive edge in key product areas today, and in the future through innovation. On the other hand, areas where you don’t have much value-add and that aren’t necessary for maintaining your competitive edge, can be outsourced. Because the acquisition of a cloud platform might represent the outsourcing of internal business capability, make sure what you’re outsourcing won’t hurt you down the road through lost internal expertise. QUESTION #3 What are the business needs I’m looking to address? Cloud platform solutions could represent significant savings for your company, but you still need to make sure you don’t pursue a solution your company doesn’t need. Make sure you actually need an entire enterprise cloud platform solution and not just a software add-on and vice versa. This requires that you clearly define the specific business needs driving the project. QUESTION #4 How big is my company and IT department? Some cloud platform solutions providers will be better suited to helping smaller companies, while others cater toward larger ones. Pick potential solutions providers with a good reputation for working with companies similar to yours. Additionally, the size, sophistication and slack within your IT department also impacts how good a match a potential solution is. QUESTION #5 What support will I need from the vendor? Even (or perhaps especially) large companies sometimes need extra support and services from vendors in order to make sure the enterprise technology solutions run well. The same is true for cloud platforms. Find out what support and services your company may need before selecting a vendor so that you know what to ask for and compare. © 2017 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 3 Cloud Platforms 2017 Buyer’s Guide anagement 5 Questions You Should Ask Potential Providers Before Selecting an Cloud Solution QUESTION #6 How does your cloud platform keep my business safe from security threats? Find out what security features, services and compatibilities the prospective vendor solution has. Keep in mind especially the compatibilities with other security solutions, such as Identity and Access Management solutions. The combination of two compatible, best-fit solutions to your business and security needs merits your consideration. QUESTION #7 How does your cloud solution work with the rest of my business and technology environment? Cloud solutions can get along very easily with the rest of your infrastructure, but if you are going to need extensive tie-in between the cloud platform and the rest of your business, ensuring all the technological pieces fit together will be well worth your time. QUESTION #8 What support offerings do you have? Support can be critical to ensuring the success of implementation and operation. Compare the different support options your prospective vendors are offering and see how well they align with the support needs you have determined from Question 5. QUESTION #9 How easy would it be to switch from one solution to another if things don’t work out? Let’s face it, sometimes the solution that looked the best for your business turns out not to be a great fit. Ask the vendor upfront and directly how they will help you move away from their solution and towards someone else’s if something goes wrong (don’t settle for “it won’t go wrong”). Their response will shine light on the business flexibility and risk the company and solution provider, as well as potentially the culture of the company with whom you’re thinking of working. QUESTION #10 Cost(s)? Don’t be fooled into thinking this means only asking about the price on the sticker. With almost every solution, there are likely to be hidden costs as well. Consider that “free” open-source solution, for instance; without support and other enterprise-focused service offerings, you could at the very least find the need to siphon off critical IT resources from other projects. At most, you might confront the high costs of a failed initiative. Opportunity costs should also be considered for what you could do with certain IT resources and money. © 2017 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 4 Cloud Platforms 2017 Buyer’s Guide anagement Cloud Platform Provider Profiles Accenture _________________________________________________________________________________________ 6 Amazon __________________________________________________________________________________________ 7 Apprenda __________________________________________________________________________________________ 8 CenturyLink _________________________________________________________________________________________ 9 Citrix _________________________________________________________________________________________ 10 Cloudistics _________________________________________________________________________________________ 11 EngineYard _________________________________________________________________________________________ 12 Exoscale _________________________________________________________________________________________ 13 GigaSpaces _________________________________________________________________________________________ 14 Google _________________________________________________________________________________________ 15 HPE _________________________________________________________________________________________ 16 IBM _________________________________________________________________________________________ 17 Kintone _________________________________________________________________________________________ 18 Mendix ________________________________________________________________________________________ 19 Microsoft ________________________________________________________________________________________ 20 Oracle ________________________________________________________________________________________ 21 OrangeScape ________________________________________________________________________________________ 22 Outsystems ________________________________________________________________________________________ 23 Pivotal ________________________________________________________________________________________ 24 Quickbase ________________________________________________________________________________________