In order to understand what a cloud services broker does, you must be better acquainted with what cloud brokerage services are, in general. This can be a little complicated to explain but in a nutshell: cloud brokerage services is a business model wherein which the business to one or some of the cloud services, whether they are public or private. This is done on behalf of the consumers via aggregation, integration or customization broker. A cloud brokerage services is who provides its own technology that is used to implement and manage any kind of cloud brokerage services projects.
The Role of Cloud Services Brokers
- A cloud service broker is typically part of an outside business. The cloud consultants will act as a mediator between the buyer of a cloud service and the seller of said service. These brokers can go in between more than two parties during negotiations when necessary. The role of the broker can really be broken down to saving time for the buyer. Time is saved because the broker will be the one who researches all the different vendors and services that are offered and then will provide the consumer with accurate information about the best way to use the cloud computing service in order to move forward in their specific business goals. Essentially, the broker is on the side of the buyer and works with the purchaser to help them understand any processes, provisions, budgets and data requirements. Once all the research is done, the broker will then narrow the list of cloud providers down and present the short list to the customer so that the customer can contact the vendors that they choose in order to arrange service provisions.
- Another role of the broker is that they may be given opportunity to negotiate contracts with the providers of the service on behalf of the customer they are working for. If this happens, then the broker has the power to utilize several vendors in order to use the customer’s finances as wisely as possible. There are programs available that a good broker will use in order to simplify the complexity of using several vendors. The program makes it look like all the services are coming from one vendor.
- In addition to these two responsibilities, the broker can provide the customer with their own additional services. This can be anything from taking care of the deduplication and encryption of data as well as the actual transferring of information to assisting the data managements. At times, they are given the provide to decide which services will best suit the customer they are working for. They can actually join those services together and sell them off as their own under their own name or brand.
Cloud brokerage is still an evolving industry. Usually, the broker is hired at the beginning of the the whole process or project and then paid hourly. If the broker provides more service, they might charge the customer depending on which service the customer wants to take advantage of. The other way that brokers work is together; several cloud brokers may join up and take a percentage of the profit after the service has been procured.
If you are thinking about hiring a cloud broker, then you need to be careful and do proper research to make sure you are getting yourself into the right area. A lot of times, companies will simply offer their own services under the name of ‘cloud broker’ and not actually be cloud brokers. Salespeople can offer their own services that come from a portfolio that already existed and you won’t realize until it’s too late that their services do not benefit you and are not cloud broker services, yet you have already paid for them. A broker that is too independent should send a red flag signal to you. If a broker is presenting themselves as entirely independent, you may want to question if they have any relationship to floor space renters. They shouldn’t be limited by the portfolio of the vendor but they will need professional relationships with sellers in order to get paid.
Overall, hiring a cloud broker makes it easier as well as safer for your company to navigate through cloud services.