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Running a business today requires more skills and experience than ever before to stay competitive. Everyone from the CEO to the marketing intern needs to be working toward the same goals in their individual areas of ownership. Often companies also find themselves outsourcing areas of the business to third parties who have expertise and the man power to help. Everyone in the organization, from PR and marketing to events and HR, have the opportunity to engage partners.
One area where this has become particularly important to success is in IT and specifically hosting infrastructure and managing its upkeep, which can be costly and time consuming to do in-house. But this doesn’t mean that just any hosting provider will do. What organizations should ideally be looking for is a Chief Hosting Officer that becomes involved and invested in the company alongside full time employees. Hosting providers with Chief Hosting Officers leading teams have become a lifeline for the modern business world.
But while outsourcing is certainly beneficial, it also brings complexity, so it is important to choose wisely.
What is a Chief Hosting Officer?
A Chief Hosting Officer is dedicated to helping your enterprise receive the most value out of hosted solutions, which sounds simple, right? While most hosting companies sell organizations a pre-determined package, those who aim to provide Chief Hosting Officer traits look to examine a company’s current IT situation and identify what is preventing an enterprise from reaching its goals. In addition, they should take it one step further and look ahead, helping a company plan for its future growth.
A Chief Hosting Officer has:
An Ability to See into the Future
Global hosting solutions are constantly evolving. As the cloud grows and the technology space begins to move toward innovations such as edge computing, it is important for businesses to understand what its needs are now and what they will be in the future. Any hosting company trying to win your business is likely to be able to meet your current needs – that’s why they made it on the consideration list to start with. But, a true partner will always be helping you plan for the future and this is where the Chief Hosting Officer really comes in to play. The Chief Hosting Officer should be able to provide solutions for where the organization is now and how it can meet its business goals down the road.
For example, if a particular enterprise has only one office in Massachusetts with their customers located primarily within the state, for right now, they may only need one data center located close to their headquarters. A Chief Hosting Officer should be able to help them choose whether they do a hybrid cloud solution versus all-cloud. However, organizations should look for a Chief Hosting Officer who inquires about the growth for the company. Enterprises can feel confident they have picked the right Chief Hosting Officer for their needs when they hear questions like, “Is this the market you are planning on staying in or do you plan on expanding?” “Do you have need in other regions such as business partners, suppliers, etc?” “Where do you see the company expanding in the future?”
Possesses a Security Mindset
With the cyber threat landscape constantly evolving and becoming increasingly complex, it is more important now than ever that hosting providers build cybersecurity into their solutions. An organization’s Chief Hosting Officer should be able to not only provide cloud and server solutions for a specific businesses need, but also be able to augment this solution with the proper protection for the cyber security threats that the organization is facing.
Is Consistently Reliable
Chances are even after an organization chooses a hosting provider they will have additional questions when it comes to how to implement and advance the agreed upon strategy. Organizations should be looking for a Chief Hosting Officer who is available to guide IT teams and the enterprise as a whole on their journey through the cloud and other hosting solutions. As a hosting provider continues to evolve their solutions and products, they should be consistently incorporating their current customers and looking for ways to enhance an organization’s experience.
A Trusted Guide to the Cloud
Each organization has different needs currently and unique goals for the future, therefore each company needs an infrastructure solution made specifically for them that combines with a Chief Hosting Officer who is also looking to grow.
Planning your cloud strategy can be overwhelming. A crucial factor when choosing a hosting provider is to find someone who can serve as a trusted advisor and guide as your cloud strategy can take some unexpected twists and turns, therefore it is important to have a partner who will evaluate your approach when new demands arise and adjust accordingly. Establishing the best solution is no longer a task left solely to the IT team. When your company doesn’t have the knowledge or resources to manage their cloud strategy, they need to be able to rely on a Chief Hosting Officer.