Today’s savvy consumer researches a product exhaustively before making a purchase. Online reviews, customer service and warranty options, and return policies all factor in, often chasing away potential customers.

Yet when it comes to making the move to the cloud, often businesses focus on security and reliability, paying little attention to customer service. Only when something goes wrong do they realize they’ve chosen a cloud provider with inefficient customer service. By then, it may be too late.

24-Hour Support

While many employees prefer to work banker’s hours, cloud services is a 24/7 business. A server could go down in the middle of the night just as easily as the middle of the day. When there is an outage, someone must be available to fix things promptly.

But quick repairs are only part of what a customer should expect from a cloud service. Businesses have customers and clients to answer to, which means they must be able to get an answer, even at two in the morning. When shopping for a cloud services provider, this means it’s imperative that a professional search for a provider that offers the help they need, when they’ll need it.

Phone vs. Chat vs. Email

We now live in an era where phone support isn’t mandatory for everyone. Some businesses actually prefer a help desk ticketing system, while others prioritize email or chat support. For some, only the telephone will do, with the ability to speak to a human being for immediate reassurance and estimated repair times being essential.

During the selection process, businesses should look for the customer support option they would prefer during an emergency outage. The best time to make those decisions is before committing to a contract.

Even the best cloud services providers aren’t immune to issues. When something happens, it’s important that responses be as quick as possible, with representatives giving the friendly, personalized customer support businesses provide their own clients.