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How to Approach Cloud Management and Optimization

cloud computing

researchHQ’s Key Takeaways:

  • The rapidly growing number of cloud services is changing the way applications are used, making Cloud Management Service (CMS) maintenance and flexible user accommodation increasingly essential.
  • Cloud optimisation services help enterprises increase their operational efficiency by enabling the continuous optimisation of their cloud environments.
  • Comparing the different services and products are offered by each cloud provider helps organisations avoid becoming overwhelmed by increased cloud consumption and resolve any issues efficiently.
  • An effective cloud management platform ensures adaptability & total control of enterprise cloud environments, helping improve the return on investment in cloud services.

 

With companies now running a significant part of their business in the cloud, it’s a good time for them to step back and see how it’s working out. When they do, they’re likely left feeling that while they’re getting benefits, there’s actually a whole lot more value they could be getting. And they’re correct.

The cloud generates substantial operational and financial benefits for companies using it. But it also introduces potential operational complexity that if not dealt with sufficiently can torpedo efforts to truly capitalize on all the cloud has to offer and undermine the business case on which the move to the cloud was based.

The fact is, managing the cloud requires a different mindset than managing traditional on-premise legacy systems. And by not adjusting, companies are leaving lots of money and opportunities on the table.

How should companies approach cloud management and optimization?

Based on our experience with more than 20,000 cloud projects, we know that the complexity of multiple cloud environments requires a new management approach. Companies need a transparent strategy to manage, optimize, and consume cloud services, and the role a robust cloud management platform can play to excel in the cloud That applies to both cloud-hosted and cloud-native application management.

Doing so will help companies not only make substantial operational advantages, but also drive an improved business case across their whole infrastructure estate by reducing the cost of managing the environment and the estate itself.

#1: Cloud Management Services (CMS): Run the cloud more efficiently

Cloud Management Services (CMS) are critical to maintain the health of a company’s applications and end-user services as well as support changes within that environment.

But effectively managing cloud estates requires some significant changes to both a company’s operating model and its skills.

Companies embracing the cloud take on two types of users:

  1. “Mode 1” users want control of the estate, predictable performance, and a stable environment.
  2. “Mode 2” users value agility, ease of use, unencumbered scalability, and full autonomy in how they use the infrastructure.

A company’s cloud operating model must accommodate both types of users, and that can mean a complete redesign of the process and platform that support the company’s infrastructure.

Changes in a company’s talent base also are typically needed

In the cloud, the lines blur between the skills required to manage applications and those required to manage infrastructure. Countless platform services—including serverless databases, key management system, machine learning, image recognition, speech-to-text translation, IoT analytics—are transforming the way cloud applications are built.

More importantly, applications living in the cloud can use these platform services to enhance the application seamlessly and quickly provide new features to business users. With the release of hundreds of new platform services a yearly from major cloud providers, company’s need to constantly learn how to maintain the building blocks of today’s cloud-based applications to maximize the value of cloud.

#2: Cloud Optimization Services: Continually optimize the environment

The journey doesn’t end with moving applications to the cloud. To continue unlocking value from its cloud estate, companies need to continually optimize how much they consume, how they buy, and how they use the steady stream of innovations the hyperscale providers roll out.

Consumption Optimization

Cloud services have become incredibly granular and they enable companies to really fine tune how much they consume. This includes resizing or redefining instance types to optimize computing, tiering storage types to optimize storage, and eliminating waste by removing idle instances or unattached disks.

Buying Optimization

Smart financial choices can generate big benefits when it comes to the cloud. Companies need to strike the right mix of buying approaches—which could include pre-purchasing reserved instances to reduce usage costs, having on-demand capacity that provides flexibility to turn estates on and off as needed, and participating in secondary markets where advanced users can make “spot buys” at discount prices.

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