Make the right choice

Are you choosing the right company to provide your cloud-based services?

Q1. What is the core focus of the business delivering my service?

Many new Cloud service providers have added hosting to their portfolio simply as an “add on” to their core business, with little focus and an even less financial investment. It is therefore crucial to establish what the business focuses on and that an appropriate level of staff, skills and supporting investment has been made into their provision of Cloud services.

Intercept Answer: We provisioned our initial Cloud platform shortly after our company was formed and we delivered our first Cloud solution in June 2002. As a testament to the quality of our solutions, we still deliver this hosted desktop service to our first hosted cloud customers.  Our solutions are therefore not just “add ons” to what we do; they actually drive everything else we do.

Q2. How long has the Provider been delivering Cloud computing services?

Proven experience in delivering Cloud services should be considered a pre-requisite. After all, your business is handing over its most important asset, its data and you should seek a provider who has already been through the steep learning curve associated with scaling up Cloud services.

Intercept Answer: Intercept has been providing dedicated Cloud services since 2002 and we were the first UK provider of a full, bespoke, hosted desktop service. We are therefore a very safe pair of hands when it comes to delivering Cloud based, hosted services.

Q3. What customer references are available?

Can I actually speak with or visit existing Customers using the service I require? Customer references and testimonials about the quality of the services delivered are the best possible way of gauging whether your provider is the right calibre of provider to fit your requirements, so don’t be afraid to ask to speak with numerous other users.

Intercept Answer: Intercept is absolutely confident our services are industry leading and we therefore welcome new clients referencing our services with existing customers. We have reference customers available from a wide variety of sectors and are happy to arrange telephone calls or even site visits if required. Beware of providers that only offer you a selection of 2 or 3 customers references.

Q4. What level of Industry Certifications does the service provider hold?

A reputable Cloud provider should be expected to hold key accreditations with leading software and hardware organisations, many of which are key to the delivery of Cloud based, hosted services. Examples of relevant accreditations are Microsoft Gold partner, Citrix Platinum Partner, VMware VAC, HP or IBM Preferred Partner, as well as service standards such as ITIL, ISO, etc.

Intercept Answer: Intercept has a wide array of industry certifications and partnerships, all focused on ensuring that we have the right support from our software and hardware partners. Please visit our partners section for full details. We also utilise the latest ITIL best practises in service management, to ensure our clients receive only the very best service standards, from design and delivery, through to ongoing support.

Q5. Where is Customer data and the providers equipment located?

Probably the most critical component of Cloud computing is the data centre, which is where the services are (or at least should be!) delivered from. Customer data and the provider’s infrastructure should all be located in a highly resilient, purpose built facility, designed for delivering hosted services. Many new providers have cut their initial set up costs by choosing to utilise less expensive measures, such as utilising an existing on-site server room and this can be disastrous in the event of a problem. You should ensure that not only is the primary data centre fit for purpose, but that data is replicated to a secondary site, with necessary equipment installed and on standby. In the event of an emergency, the provider should be able to switch over to this standby site.  If you are a European company then you should also give consideration to where you data is located, ensuring that it remains in the UK or at the very least within the European Union.

Intercept Answer: Intercept utilises two Tier 3 data centres for the delivery of our Cloud services. The main UK data centre located in East London cost over £30 million to build and is considered one of the most resilient facilities in Europe. This “DC” is manned and managed 24x7 and provides the highest possible levels of resilience in all areas, Our secondary Data Centre is located in Milton Keynes, which is our warm, standby facility and 50 miles apart from our primary facility.  We also ensure that all of your corporate data is stored on servers in the United Kingdom and governed by UK and EU data protection laws.


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