Identify account ownership
Know who contracts with the hosting provider, controls billing and can recover access. Decide how that ownership works if the management relationship ends.
Separate layers of responsibility
Hardware and network, operating system, database and application are different layers. Ask which are monitored, patched and supported.
Read the coverage boundaries
Support hours, response targets, backup retention and recovery work should be explicit. Neither label automatically includes application development or high availability.
Compare the full operating cost
Include provider charges, management fees, licenses and expected capacity changes. Ask how incidents outside the manager's control are escalated.