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Mar
Microsoft’s recent price increase on six of the most popular 365 solutions has triggered speculation that this action could cause similar increases from other major cloud service providers. As the cloud is forecasted to become increasingly expensive, CIOs are keen to optimise cloud expenditure. Many seek to manage the balance between spending and solutions. Cloud cost, delivery and optimisation is one of the top concerns for modern businesses in 2022.
A Cloud environment is dynamic and ever changing, so, a degree of fluctuation and unpredictability of cloud expenditure is to be expected. However, the biggest reason many companies aren’t effectively managing cloud costs is due to the lack of insight and visibility into their cloud infrastructure, usage, and billing as well as the processes surrounding the management of cloud technology.
Cloud service providers or CSP’s pay-as-you-go price model has brought a lot of freedom. But be aware: flexibility usually comes with a price. While the initial price may be low, cloud expenditure can ramp up unexpectedly. With data charges, escalating API fees, or harsh cancellation and downgrading policies; companies could be paying a lot more for a service that is not needed or should have been set up more efficiently in the first place.
The need to deploy at lightning-fast speed in the last two years has made it even more of a challenge for CIOs. We have seen costly mistakes from inefficiently configured cloud environments with unforeseen complexities that can skew initial cost projections. Read more about tech debt here.
Finally, forecasting cloud cost is tricky, with a multitude of hybrid environments and working trends accelerated by Covid-19 to consider. With companies undertaking extreme measures to mitigate costs, deciding how much you will need to spend on your cloud infrastructure can become an incredibly complex exercise.
Let’s start with your business first.
A great starting point is to understand the proper tools and resources your team needs to get their job done. Knowing your business requirements, not just from an IT perspective, can help you define a clear cloud strategy and help to accurately gauge what your team needs. This will help to strike that balance between expenditure and function. Always ask the end user, not just the technician or executive team, what they think may make their work easier or more efficient.
Build a company-wide culture of cost-consciousness
Take control of your cloud expenditure by knowing where and what resources are in use and who is responsible for utilising them. Track cloud usage and balance costs across the right departments. Hold everyone, not just your IT team, accountable for cloud usage versus expenditure. Look critically at where vast resources are being used to achieve small goals. You may be able to utilise your cloud tools more efficiently.
Pay attention to cloud costs in a meaningful way.
Cloud cost-solution management has become a crucial part in the work-from-anywhere world. In multi-cloud and hybrid environments, tracking current usage and predicting future requirements can be a daunting task for your IT and Finance departments.
This is where MSP cloud service delivery can shine. An expert MSP will consider your whole environment with a centralised, cross-vendor approach. They can help you to improve the management and effective utilisation of your cloud environment, tailor services based on your needs to flatten cost spikes. They can even gather information on your current cloud expenditure versus usage and provide recommendations so you can optimise your business’ utilisation of the cloud.
So, get your MSP to do the hard work. You will be better positioned to make informed decisions about how your business can benefit from a cloud solution to improve your existing work environment.
Get a cloud health and cost analysis today to see how you cann optimise your cloud spending and save.