A new report finds more than half of the organizations on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud do not use cloud optimization tools such as Saving Plans or Reserved Instances.
ProsperOps, a cloud cost optimization provider, conducted an analysis of AWS Cost and Usage Reports from hundreds of organizations. The report notes less than half of organizations are actively taking advantage of any type of commitment-based discounts to reduce their cloud costs.
Cloud spending blind spots: A gateway for MSP expertise
One of the major reasons organizations lack the cost optimization discipline is that many of them have been allowing application developers to provision cloud resources themselves. It’s not until the bill comes at the end of the month that finance teams realize something might be amiss when there is a sudden spike in costs.
That lack of visibility into cloud spending naturally creates consulting opportunities for managed service providers (MSPs). Especially those that have mastered the nuances of cloud computing in ways few internal IT teams can match. This expertise can often open the door to other opportunities. Business and finance leaders can realize the reckless spending of much of the IT budget allocated to cloud services.
Running application workloads in the cloud is fundamentally different than running them in an on-premise IT environment. One key difference lies in the fact that costs are largely fixed. Whereas, when a new workload is added to the cloud, additional storage and cybersecurity expenses are generated every time. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that much of the budget allocated to cloud computing initiatives is being wasted. No one has a holistic view of how infrastructure resources are being consumed.
Navigating the path to cloud spending transparency
When this conversation ultimately takes place it will likely start with finance teams. MSPs would be well-advised to focus their initial education efforts on finance executives. They would simply want to better understand how the IT budget is being consumed. From there it’s only a short walk down the proverbial hall to an IT department that may not be inclined to admit just how much of the spending on cloud services has moved beyond their control. There are plenty of other projects that could get funded. If only so much of what is currently being spent wasn’t wasted.
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This post originally appeared on Smarter MSP.