When it comes to the public cloud, one of the challenges businesses face is in optimizing the costs associated with it. While it’s true that businesses can experience cost savings by using the cloud, this is only possible if businesses know how to manage their resources. One of the most common issues is that customers of these cloud services often pay for the services in a provisional capacity and they often pay for resources that they aren’t even using. This is a considerable waste of money.

The goal for these businesses is to find a way to pay for exactly what is being used. This can be achieved by utilizing a process known as Dynamic Resource Optimization. Here’s more information about how companies can reduce costs:

Develop Cost Awareness

Costs associated with the public cloud can add up, and this can cause a drain on cash flow. In general, businesses need to become more aware of the costs associated with the cloud. This requires that they set up protocols to monitor cloud usage, and this includes monitoring applications in order to insure that the cloud resources are provisioned optimally. Many companies even feel the need to either hire a full time employee to manage the cloud. Those companies who may not have the resources to hire someone full time might consider hiring a third party service to oversee it.

Choose the Right Vendor

One important way to optimize cloud costs is to select the right vendor in the first place. Not all cloud services are created equally, and not all equipment that companies have in-house best optimizes the cloud service. Care needs to be taken to not only choose the right service, but also find ways to best optimize the cloud services to best utilize in-house workstations and apps. Here are some factors to look at when selecting the best vendor:

  • Security. Does the cloud service provider adequately meet the business’s security needs, or does the service offer more security measures than what is necessary?
  • Compliance. Is the cloud service compliant with industry regulations, such as those set by HIPAA?
  • Architecture. Does the cloud service’s architecture incorporate well with the workflow needs of the company?
  • Service. Does the public cloud provider offer the best mix of services that best suit the business’s unique needs? Does the level of service given meet the legal needs of the business?
  • Costs. Does the cost structure for the service provider make sense for the company’s unique cloud-based needs?
  • Support. Does the cloud service provide adequate customer support? This is an important consideration because good support minimizes downtime in the case of a service outage, and downtime can be costly.

Rather than go through the process of Dynamic Resource Optimization in-house, consider hiring a third-party service to help optimize the public cloud spend. These third party services are diligent and constantly monitor the actual usage versus how much money is being spent. They will then recommend any changes that can be made that will help reduce costs. Contact Roan Solutions for more information.