As more organisations look towards the cloud as the future of business technology, it’s becoming increasingly important for any business that wants to stay ahead to at least consider implementing cloud technologies into their infrastructure.
But, as with everything right now, cloud costs are rising – meaning that you need to make sure the cloud is economically viable for you. After all, all the benefits of the cloud don’t matter if you have to pay sky-high prices for your implementations.
In this article, we’re going to go over the rising cloud costs, why cloud waste is important to consider, and how you can use optimisation to cut the cost of cloud implementation.
The technology industry is suffering from a massive surge in costs right now. This includes the cloud, which takes a lot of resources to make it work. With that and the rise of generative AI technologies, the cloud has become pricier than at its onset.
Generative AI requires lots of resources to be utilised effectively – and to accommodate these technologies, cloud costs need to be increased. These cost hikes are cascading down to the end user.
Furthermore, the rise in labour costs is another huge reason the cloud is getting more expensive. Running the cloud requires manpower to install and maintain it. And when labour costs go up, so does the cost of service.
Another major reason that cloud costs are rising is the high level of ‘cloud waste’ that exists in the corporate sector. Cloud waste occurs when a cloud service remains underutilised (compared with what has been purchased). This results in the mass haemorrhaging of cloud resources from corporations worldwide.
So it is vital to optimise your cloud implementation. Removing the extra costs associated with cloud waste will help to reduce your IT overheads.
Cloud waste is a massive problem, costing approximately $26.6 billion in 2021. It’s important to know why cloud waste exists: doing so will help you to tackle it within your organisation. Failure to keep an eye on it will result in significant extra costs.
Common causes of cloud waste include:
Cloud waste can lead to lots of issues when it comes to budgeting and planning. It can lead to you spending more than you planned.
Cloud visibility is the ability to view all activity within your cloud network. This means that you can keep track of what’s being used – and what isn’t.
This will let you fully track your cloud consumption and help you to optimise it.
Cloud governance lets you design and implement a framework of policies for the management of your cloud systems.
Cost management is one of the five primary disciplines that make up good governance. A high level of governance ensures that your cloud implementation works correctly and at a sensible price.
Optimisation is the key to ensuring that your cloud implementation is cost-effective. Without it, you’ll inevitably spend more than is necessary.
Specifically, optimisation balances cloud costs and other resources with performance – meaning that you’re always getting the best bang for your buck.
Here are a few ways to optimise your cloud systems:
The process of optimising cloud environments for security, cost and governance can be time-consuming and expensive. However, tools such as Scout can simplify this process. Scout is an AI-powered platform designed specifically to help organisations optimise cost, security and resource management within Azure.
Where other cost optimisation tools – such as Microsoft Cost Management – allow surface-level monitoring and optimisation, Scout takes it to the next level with in-depth governance, cost management, admin logs, tagging and cost allocation.
Scout is a game-changer for organisations looking to manage rising cloud costs without jeopardising security or governance.
The cloud is an important consideration for any organisation looking to be successful. But with the rising costs associated with cloud computing, optimisation is vital.
When did you last review your cloud environment? PSTG can help you to cut costs, enhance security and improve governance – contact us today to find out more.