Cost control is one of the new key processes in hybrid cloud environments that needs to be implemented – as we did in the past with capacity planning or other traditional processes in the datacenter.
But if you are looking for a “saving money” scenario by simply executing your move to the cloud… I’m sorry, you are going to lose the game. If you think that just by relocating your servers and applications to the cloud you’ll reduce your bill you are going to have a bad experience.
By default, and with no need to show any of the million analyses we can find on the internet, cloud cost is more expensive than your traditional provider or your own datacenter. This situation forces companies to build a cost control process, to help them save on their monthly expenses and avoid surprises at the end of the month.
Abiquo has built a cost panel that helps identify the providers’ costs and analyze their evolution over time. But Abiquo also offers the ability to understand what is happening and suggest improvements to adjust your bill: Public IPs purchased and not used, load balancers, VMs that are running for ages that may need a reserved plan or VMs under consuming resources. There’s more to come, more capabilities to help with that analysis – but that will give me the chance to write another blog post.
Moreover, Abiquo helps move to the cloud by working in a different way.
Traditionally, in the datacenter, each server had a name and the Sysadmins would create a relationship trying to interact like with it. On the other hand, moving to the cloud means that a server is another resource in which, with automation, you can build any service from scratch, and if something happens, you can autoscale, or schedule growth. We evolve from creating servers that live forever in the datacenter that almost anybody is using to the cloud style – where you deploy and undeploy resources constantly based on business, demands or requirements.
And here is where cost control becomes important. A way to control what’s happening with your money and magnify the benefits of a new service using just the required resources. And it’s here where if you build a business case for your CFO 5 years away comparing traditional IT with cloud way, you will show a much better deal for your business.
To sum up, remember these words: Migrating to the cloud without additional controls will not save money!