Welp MagazineCloud technology helps businesses share resources and therefore the total cost of using it is spread across all end users. Cloud technology has helped enable remote connections, collaboration, file sharing and processes across users with little to no visible delay. However, cloud technology has a few downsides that businesses have to grapple with if they want it to work for them, with one of them actually being the cost. Cloud technology can get very expensive, especially in cases where businesses are not able to take advantage of everything it enables. Controlling the cost of cloud technology to ensure it does not spiral out of control is crucial, so we will look at a few ways businesses can do this.
Switch to Cheaper Providers and Applications
The first place to look when you would like to reduce the cost of your cloud infrastructure is your provider. You can shop around to compare what other providers are offering to see if this is an area where your business can save money without using any benefits afforded by your cloud provider.
Additionally, businesses should be open to alternative cloud software. Businesses do not have to use the software provided to them by their cloud provider or the industry standard if it is too expensive for them.
Conduct Performance Analysis
Even when you are thinking of switching to a cheaper cloud mode or a pay-as-you-go option, it is always helpful to find out whether you are not getting what you are paying for and this is where performance analysis tools come in. These tools help you measure not only how your whole cloud infrastructure is doing but also how each individual application being used on that infrastructure is doing.
The good news is that the performance analysis tools available right now can be tweaked to measure specific metrics such as usage, resource peaks and more so you can identify areas where improvements can be made to reduce costs.
Diagnostic tools such as those offered by Virtasant also have automated resolution features that apply recommended fixes without any human intervention. Their diagnostic tool also helps identify areas where businesses can reduce cloud spend through opportunities for consolidation, scalability and simplification of their infrastructure. Virtasant also helps businesses migrate their applications and their associated services to the web, manage their cloud operations, as well as take advantage of all the benefits that come with migrating to the cloud.
Implement Continuous Monitoring
Even when all optimizations are in place, it is common for your infrastructure to start behaving differently as you use it down the line. This is why it is important to set up continuous monitoring. The necessary tools to enable this should be installed as the infrastructure is being built. Also, you should set up automated alerts and actions to catch any areas of additional optimization, optimize performance and to find additional areas where you can reduce cloud spend in the future.
Reduce the Amount of Stored Data
With the advent and increasing use of data analysis and optimization tools, it is very easy for businesses to collect excessive amounts of data. Where businesses have not streamlined their data collection practices, it is also easy to end up with duplicate data or data that does not help the business in any way.
Data storage can drive up the cost of your cloud plan and so businesses should find ways to reduce the data they collect. Also, businesses have to be vigilant about data being copied and versioned to ensure cloud storage is being utilized the best way possible.
Another strategy businesses can use to save money is using different storage tiers for their data. Businesses can utilize a cheaper cloud storage tier for data they do not use regularly and data that has passed a certain age. Doing this helps businesses reduce their overall cloud storage costs.
Correct Inefficient Code
In cloud technology plans where you are charged for CPU time, it is very important that you reduce the amount of CPU used as well as how long it is used. The best way to do this is to check the code in your software to remove inefficiencies. For example, if a web service runs more queries than it is supposed to for a single request, that is a source of wasted CPU time and resources.
While the difference in performance will be noticeable, the reduced cost of using fewer resources will be significant too.
Identify Areas of Overprovisioning
Overprovisioning is where a service or application is assigned more resources than it needs. When using physical infrastructure, overprovisioning is quite common because the hardware is already there. When companies move to the cloud, they might keep single servers running one or just a few applications or processes as it was when using physical infrastructure. This leads to unnecessary cost because businesses are paying for underutilized services whose scale they do not need.
Businesses can save costs through virtualization where the same cloud infrastructure can handle a lot more processes, applications and even virtual machines.
For businesses that are moving or have already moved to the cloud, there is a need to examine the technology, services and applications in use to find areas where they can save money. In many cases, finding areas of improvement not only reduces cost, but also improves performance and makes for a better user experience.
