Managing Cloud Costs (and Expectations)
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Managing Cloud Costs (and Expectations)
Not all cloud monitoring software is created equal, and these 10 tips can assist IT decision makers when selecting cloud cost management software. -
Gather Data
Collect consumption data without agents, using automated extracts providing consistent, repeatable processes. -
Monitor Usage
Design flexible mapping of usage and costs to enrich and transform raw data into any business view without manual intervention. -
Take a Broad View
Aggregate data across the hybrid environments, including public, private and virtualized resources creating a single, unified view. -
Scale Up
Grow to scale easily, adding new data sources from both internal and external cloud sources using easy-to-maintain methods. -
Ensure Secure Web-Based Reporting
Provide secure, Web-based reporting for both IT and business users, with drill-down capabilities to show actual usage and help drive decisions. -
Look for Inconsistencies
Report inconsistent business terms by using bundling features that emulate both internal service catalog and CSP offerings. -
Check Your Ability to Manage Pricing
Evaluate your ability to manage multiple rate and price plans across hybrid cloud environments. -
Automate Spending Alerts
Automate alerts to identify over/under spending, and provisioning of services (apps, VMs, storage capacity, bandwidth capacity, CPUs). -
Customize Dashboards
Customize executive dashboards with real-time updates that enhance business value discussions throughout the enterprise. -
Use Analytics to Avoid Waste and Service Disruption
Exploit business analytics to support trending and analysis of supply and demand to avoid IT waste and, most of all, prevent any service disruption.
Today, cloud computing growth outpaces all other IT spending, according to IDC. The forecast for worldwide total cloud spend for 2015 is $32 billon, up 21 percent from last year's $26.4 billion spent. Not long ago, however, the cloud was a small percentage of the IT budget, nearly lost among other contracted services. According to Cloud Cruiser, a cloud financial management company, as cloud adoption grows, whether in the public sector or on a private cloud, it is becoming clear that traditional approaches to managing costs and resources will not handle cloud consumption. Increasingly, companies are seeking out and evaluating solutions to fill this void. "Evaluate your current tracking methodologies, considering the impact aggregating charges from multiple suppliers will have on your operation, and create success criteria to meet the challenges of managing a hybrid environment," recommends Penny Collen, senior Financial Solutions Architect for Cloud Cruiser. Here are her tips to strengthen your confidence in your choice.