Matchmaker: What a true, supported Cloud Hosting experience looks like

The cloud buzzword list continues to grow

Flexible, scalable, efficient, and on and on. Sound familiar? It does for us too, cause we’ve heard them. A lot.

What if I added “support” to this list? Yes, an easy, everyday word, but something less discussed in the Cloud realm. Why? Because no one knows what that looks like. We’re here to clear the air. 

The DataBank Cloud team doesn’t just live and breathe flexibility and efficiency into our ECM hosting solution, we support the software and the organization implementing it from discovery to execution to continued hosting for years to come. But what exactly does that look like? We’re glad you asked. Here’s our list for a fully-supported Cloud solution.

Uptime

What good is hosting in a Cloud environment if your Content Services/ECM software is not available to your team? The answer is not much. High availability and disaster recovery are the foundation for a supported Cloud solution. 

Uptime not only means the uptime of an environment, but it’s also crucial for users to access the data they need to do their jobs. The difference is that the cloud environment or infrastructure can be up and healthy, but OnBase can still be down because of application administration issues. My team measures uptime based on user access to their content.

Uptime for a cloud environment should be at least 99.5% for a simple system and 99.95%, if not higher, for an enterprise system. Multiple backups should also be available, so there’s never a doubt your ECM system is always ready to use.

Security

Security seems like it’s a given, but you’d be surprised. Many of the DIY cloud options lack the security features needed for a truly supportive Cloud environment for your ECM solution and your industry standards.

A Cloud environment should be able to meet your security needs determined by your team and hold its own in a third party audit, which means investment in security from both sides is crucial.

Dedicated Support Team

Working with a Cloud provider can be both successful and frustrating at the same time, especially if the providers don’t have the expertise and level of service to help your team excel and expand its capabilities. Along with this, ROI can be lost due to wasted man hours and the environment not doing everything it was promised when your organization invested.

If you give us a second to brag, this is our favorite. A lot of organizations with a Cloud solution boast this, we show it. Our team of Cloud professionals – from architects to support to security experts with a combined over 30 years of experience, ensures you’re never without knowledgeable resources in your Cloud journey. 

Our Cloud support team is also part of our national support team, with only one contact point. There are no tiers, no figuring out who to call, just solid support and knowing that you’re never alone in Cloud hosting.

Value 

Value is more than just cost, investment, and pricing. It encompasses all that goes into a solution, from cost to employee value to customer service to expertise. Think about it like this:

DIY Cloud Solution

This option is incredibly cost-effective, but the man-hours needed from your team could potentially affect profitability. As well, if your team needs support in building the environment, that could be an additional cost. Support for availability, access, and troubleshooting could also be available, but consistency and responsiveness aren’t guaranteed. Security is also on your own.

Overall, we see a pretty price tag with nothing else to offer regarding value

On-Prem

Here are a few things we recommend considering with on-premise ECM hosting:

• • • Security will depend on the hardware and your team’s ability to prepare it. 
    • Low accessibility to this data will. Hence the on-premise hardware. 
    • The investment in hardware will need to be upgraded every few years, potentially affecting ROI.
    • Surprise costs for hardware replacement and availability
    • Facility costs for HVAC and temperature control, fire suppression, backup generators, physical security, and more.

Cloud Provider

The cost and support of these options can vary depending on your needs, but let’s talk through The DataBank Cloud:

• • • Costs are based on your current ECM maintenance or subscription fees. 
    • Uptime and availability sits at 99.999%.
    • Support for your environment before, during, and after implementation. Constant support that answers tickets in 30 minutes or less.
    • Security built-in and customizable for your needs.

Your Cloud solution is your own to decide and move forward on. However, value remains a top priority and it’s crucial to consider more than just the price tag for a Cloud environment.