Letting someone else operate it.
WHAT THEY PROVIDE
Installation and patching Automated backups Replication and failover Monitoring Scaling with less work
WHAT THEY COST
More than the raw hardware Less control Restrictions on configuration
WHAT TO ESTABLISH BEFORE COMMITTING
What version is supported What configuration you may change How backups work, and whether you can download them What the restore process is Where data resides
WHY DOWNLOADING BACKUPS MATTERS
A backup you cannot take elsewhere is not portability.
WHAT TO TEST EARLY
An export, and a restore into your own environment.
WHAT TO CHECK ABOUT COST
Charges for storage, transfer and connections, not only the instance.
WHY TRANSFER SPECIFICALLY
Moving data out is frequently charged, and it can be substantial.
WHAT TO PLAN FOR
Costs in foreign currency, rising with the exchange rate.
WHAT LATENCY TO CONSIDER
Distance between your application and the service.
WHY IT MATTERS ENORMOUSLY
Each query pays the round trip.
WHAT TO AVOID
An application in one region and its database in another.
WHAT TO KEEP REGARDLESS
Your own independent backup.
