The main attraction of the cloud to investors and entrepreneurs is the idea of making money from you, on a recurring,perpetual basis, for something you currently get for a flat rate or for free without having to give up the money or privacy that cloud companies hope to leverage into fortunes.
Cory Doctorow, writing for the Guardian newspaper,
September 2009
This quote from Doctorow (2009), one of my favourite science fiction writers, caused quite a storm in the IT community
at the time; but public cloud providers are, of course, in the business to make money so it is worth keeping that obvious point in mind. If after reading the previous chapters on the risks and benefits of cloud computing you are still interested in its potential for your business then this chapter will help you to find potential providers and arm you with the right questions to ask. Things to consider when you compare providers include their client references; service level agreements; service costs; and processes and practices.