Cost management in the age of multi-cloud platforms

These days, multi-cloud environments are not so much an option; they are inevitable. Organizations are deploying various SaaS applications that run on separate cloud infrastructures, and as they become increasingly reliant on cloud computing, it’s essential to avoid vendor lock-in for flexibility and spend optimization.

There are many concerns an organization may have when it comes to multi-cloud management. While it can add several benefits to the inner workings of an enterprise, low cost isn’t one of them. This begs the question - why has the cost of multi-cloud become so difficult to manage and how organizations can begin to reel in cloud spend?

Cost management has become a major pain point

In our recent C-level and IT manager survey “Managing and Understanding On-Premises and Cloud Spend", 43 percent of our respondents named high costs as their top concern when using the cloud. Unpredictable budget costs as well as a lack of visibility and transparency were also named as the biggest pain points.

In fact, while 74 percent of today’s enterprises describe their current strategy as multi-cloud, only 42 percent of them regularly optimize their cloud spending. Furthermore, for the third year in a row 64 percent of enterprises stated that optimizing their existing cloud infrastructure for cost savings was their number one initiative.

The challenges of managing cloud costs

The ease with which cloud-based infrastructure and applications can be deployed, by any department, means that multi-cloud environments can grow exponentially over the course of a year. As such, it can become incredibly difficult for organizations to track and manage spend, especially without a team dedicated to doing so. When this happens, cloud spend can easily surpass allocated budget.

Here are a few of the top challenges that enterprise organizations experience when managing cloud costs:

• Lack of Visibility - Many organizations are struggling with a lack of visibility. It’s problematic to not know how much cloud software is in use and where it is running for a multitude of reasons - cost remaining chief among them. When an enterprise doesn’t have a complete view of what they own, it’s nearly impossible to determine key performance metrics or understand how these tools contributed to the success of core business goals.
• Unpredictable Costs - Unpredictable cost is a challenge that goes hand in hand with lack of visibility. It’s very different to nail down exactly how much everything will cost each month when your organization is not aware of what cloud-based solutions are running in your environment, or the licensing agreements and SLAs in place. This means having a reliable billing cycle and forecasting future costs is out of the question.
• Knowledge Gaps - As multi-cloud management becomes more complex, IT teams may have a hard time keeping up. Without time, resources, and proper training / expertise, IT won’t be able to fully ensure an organization is not overspending.
• Manual Processes - Some organizations have yet to automate their cloud management processes. If you’re still carrying out multi-cloud management manually, you could actually end up spending more due to labor costs and additional operational costs that fly under the radar.

How PyraCloud can help

When management of this environment becomes too complex, organizations should turn to a standalone cloud cost management tool. Look for a tool that will help you cut back on spending and simplify the process. This is where PyraCloud comes in.

SoftwareOne’s PyraCloud enables you to take a systematic approach to your organization’s cloud cost management. With 75 percent of cloud spend being both unapproved and untracked, your organization needs a tool that helps you manage your global software portfolio end-to-end.

PyraCloud allows you to define your organizational structure, set up cloud budgets by business unit, geography or project and then tag cloud resources so you can keep track of your global cloud consumption in the context of your business. Plus, you will be able to chargeback cloud consumption to any defined business units or projects. The platform also enables you to allocate additional costs to offset the shared service expense of managing cloud resources.

Additionally, PyraCloud provides recommendations within the cloud environment for security, performance, availability and cost savings. It provides a holistic view of historical, current and forecasted consumption and costs, across multiple cloud providers. Essentially, it puts the control and agility back in the hands of your organization. Investing in a cloud cost management tool allows you to regain visibility and control your multi cloud environment.