White label cloud services refers to the concept of creating a product and selling it to multiple providers for rebranding and resale. After the strategy originally gained traction in the music and grocery industries, it is now being adopted by more and more companies in the online sector. What are the advantages of using a white label cloud service? Which sectors of the IT industry can gain benefits from using a white label offering? What should you look out for when choosing a white label provider? CloudTweaks investigates…
White label’s principle benefit is allowing solution providers to deliver a variety of cloud services with their own company branding, but without the costs and problems of running their own data centre. It enables Service Providers to have access to efficient, innovative technology without having to make a large investment of their own or worry about ongoing maintenance, management, and upkeep of the equipment.
With an estimated 75 percent of American businesses now using at least one cloud application, reliability and quality are also high on the list. Even if a company decided it wanted to invest in its own data centre, the superiority of a third-party cloud’s service, security and quality is still likely to be way in excess of what a provider could achieve themselves.
The final major benefit to using white label services is the ability to grow your brand quickly and flexibly. As more businesses move their operations into the cloud, the ability to add an extra service to your business that can be modified, up-scaled and upgraded in line with client demand is an effective way to maintain and build upon your company’s market position.
In reality, white label solutions can be used for almost every business proposition imaginable. Whether you want to build apps, create a branded social community, add video services, or gamify your website, you will be able to find a white label provider.
Nonetheless, Chris Mederios, President of Canadian Cloud Backup, believes certain sectors of the IT industry are better placed than others to take advantage of white label’s offerings. His company is Canada’s premier white labelled offsite backup and branded offsite reseller program provider, and industry specific solutions are the backbone to their products.
The provider offers their clients the ability to choose their own resale value, to add 100 percent of their own company branding without any mention of Canadian Cloud Backup, and to use Canadian Cloud Backup’s data centre as if they was the client’s own. Add this to regular software updates, trial accounts, and web portals, and Mederios believes it becomes apparent that IT Service Providers, Managed Service Providers and Software Developers are in the strongest position to reap the rewards of white label cloud services.
There are a few key questions to ask yourself when choosing your white label provider.
Where is my data stored? In light of the recent US Government spying allegations, companies should be more wary about where their data is stored and who holds jurisdiction over it. Data in the USA is subject to the complex Patriot Act and there are now high-level talks in both Europe and Canada about forcing domestic data to stay on domestic servers.
Am I reducing my carbon footprint? Data centres located in cold places such as Canada and the Scandinavian countries will typically use less energy to cool their servers than those in warmer climates. Examples of green data centres include the Uspensky Cathedral in Helsinki and the Green Mountain Data Centre in Norway.
How secure is my data? Your data should be protected by at least AES 256 Bit Encryption in the data centre servers, whilst physical on-site security is also a must.
A leading provider such as the aforementioned Canadian Cloud Backup will be able to answer all the above questions with a positive answer, whereas a less reputable provider may not be able to give you the same level of guarantees.
You still need to exercise caution when moving onto a white label provider’s service. It’s important to remember that you may have a lack of control over the thinking and decision-making behind alterations. If errors arise, new features are requested, or updates are needed you will need open and clear communication channels with your provider in order to safeguard your own clients against disruptions. Finally, you’ll need to think about what services you want your company to be offering in five years and check that your provider’s vision in sync with your vision.
What do you think? Do you see a use for white label cloud services in your industry? Do you already use a white label provider? Let us know in the comments below.
By Daniel Price
