Evaluate The Add-ons

Many cloud providers offer a variety of different features and additional services in their SLAs (service-level agreements), and the more add-ons the higher the price. Before getting sticker shock, IT managers need to spend some serious time evaluating the additional features that each provider includes, and seeing what can give them the most bang for their buck. For example, most major cloud providers offer an application performance management (APM) option. While APM tools provide great insight into internal performance improvements, they don't show a critical aspect of cloud performance, Internet monitoring and analysis. Evidence has shown that as much as 50 percent of cloud-performance issues are due to Internet behavior, so instead of strictly investing in APM, ask for an Internet performance management solution instead. It's a more complete tool that will pay off in significant improvements in the user experience of cloud services now and in the future.