Cloud Computing THE COST CONUNDRUM
Sam Woodcock, senior director of cloud strategy and enablement, 11:11 Systems, examines the cost effectiveness of cloud adoption.
F
or most businesses, change is driven by the need to reduce risk and innovate while optimising cost and return on
investment. In the case of cloud adoption, the powerful functionality offered by these platforms enables businesses to streamline, optimise, and make their workflows more efficient, which, in turn, helps reduce costs. Organisations are always looking for the best solutions for optimising efficiency and reducing costs, particularly in uncertain economic times. Yet, migrating to the cloud does not always
bring the cost optimisation and savings that an organisation is looking to benefit from. Depending on which cloud solution is being evaluated and how the solution is designed, built, and deployed, the result may not deliver on the project’s original goals. Why is this? Due to their granular and complex pricing structures, the pricing
models of certain cloud platforms can be difficult to understand. Without a complete and informed understanding, along with a rigorous planning process, the result can be unexpected and unpredictable costs. To ensure that the right choices are made to achieve strategic objectives, it is critical for businesses to utilise skilled expertise, both business and technical, to navigate the variety of decisions that need to be made.
30 | May/June 2025
Cloudy estimates versus real costs When exploring cloud pricing structures, the initial costs may seem quite attractive, but aſter delving deeper to examine the details, certain aspects may become cloudy. Te pricing tiers add a layer of complexity, which means there isn’t a single recurring cost to add to the balance sheet. Rather, cloud fees vary depending on the provider, features, and several usage factors such as on-demand use, data transfer volumes, technical support, bandwidth, disk performance, and other core metrics, which can influence the overall solution’s price. However, the good news is that there are ways to control and manage these costs. One option
is to lean on a Managed Service Provider (MSP) that understands the pricing structures used by cloud providers. Tis MSP can plan and identify potential overlapping services, eliminate inefficiencies from the organisation’s core applications and data, and make decisions that optimise spend. With this understanding, the result is a right-sized and optimised application and network architecture that can result in streamlined and predictable cloud costs.
Reducing risks and increasing complexity Adopting a multi-cloud approach offers many benefits for
www.pcr-online.biz
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
