Cloud platforms are becoming increasingly popular among business owners and executives. However, much of the early excitement that accompanies cloud strategies often turns into disappointment for some enterprises.
Why?
The answer lies in what is called “Sticker Shock.”
Sticker shock is the dismay experienced by potential buyers of a particular product upon discovering high or increased prices. Despite thorough research and due diligence conducted by the companies, the cloud can sometimes come with many additional fees and hidden costs.
Therefore, it is important to understand all the variables that affect cloud pricing. There are a good number of variables associated with cloud pricing which can make it difficult to perform comparisons to find the right cloud solution. Often, enterprises need significant and upfront preparation not only for accurate cost comparisons but also to determine which workloads will deliver price and performance benefits in the cloud versus keeping them on premise.
One study conducted by IDG found that 38% of enterprises have moved workloads from the public cloud back to their on-premise data centers with the primary reason being the costs involved.
Here are 5 steps to consider when seeking to understand and compute the right costs of cloud solutions:
Step 1: Sort out Cost Complexities
Create a budget and sort out the tasks that require the presence of clouds and the ones that can be conducted on-site. This segregation is key to determining the right cost of a cloud.
Step 2: Understand Workload and Optimization Considerations
Once you have segregated your tasks, pick out the cloud-based ones and then define the intermittent tasks associated with them. Afterwards, optimize the segregations to narrow down the best fit.
Step 3: Pick the Right Cost-Analysis Tool
Now, use the cost analysis tools that your company employs and ensure the tools you are thinking about using are the most efficient ones for your business.
Step 4: Turn Insights into Action
Gather insights, analyze them, and create a plan of action.
Step 5: Create a Plan for the Future
Once your action plan is ready, begin implementing. Remember to keep analyzing and strategizing at every step.
A solid understanding of true cloud costs can help you and your fellow decision-makers plan for the future based on accurate estimates and potential changes in requirements.
If you want to know more about cloud costs and analyzation, click the link below for more information.
