Companies of all sizes are increasingly opting for a multi-cloud IT environment. Organizations can enjoy enhanced flexibility and cost savings when selecting services from multiple cloud service providers (CSPs) that align with their business objectives. The ability to choose solutions and services from various vendors can be instrumental in addressing business requirements and improving operations.
A potential downside of the multi-cloud approach is its complexity. Companies must address this complexity efficiently to avoid overspending and minimizing the return on investment (ROI) associated with cloud services. An organization can negate potential cost savings by mismanaging its multi-cloud infrastructure.
Let’s look at some best practices for streamlining multi-cloud spending and controlling costs. We’ll also highlight tools and services available from VAST that help your company optimize your cloud ROI.
Best Practices to Streamline Multi-Cloud Spending
Organizations must adopt an organized and well-managed strategy to streamline and control multi-cloud spending. It takes a multi-faceted approach to handle the challenges of getting the most value from a multi-cloud environment. Companies should consider the following best practices when managing their cloud costs.
Assess Current Cloud Usage
The first step in containing multi-cloud costs is to understand current spending. Companies can obtain this knowledge with a comprehensive assessment and audit of their environment. They need to identify what cloud resources are being used and where they are hosted. Detecting redundant solutions or services from multiple CSPs that can quickly be consolidated or eliminated is crucial.
The next step is to right-size the environment after identifying and removing redundant resources. Over-provisioning can be very expensive. Companies should look for solutions that scale automatically to address fluctuating business requirements. Automated scaling avoids over or under-provisioning critical resources that may be needed to handle spikes in usage and maintain customer satisfaction.
Organizations must continuously monitor and perform real-time data analysis of cloud usage and spending. They should focus on identifying usage patterns and implementing alerts when anomalies are detected. Teams can use the information gained from these activities to modify the environment to minimize waste and reduce costs.
Reserved pricing plans can reduce costs compared to on-demand payment options. Monitoring usage data may indicate that specific minimum resource levels are required. Engaging in a commitment-based pricing structure for these cloud resources may be cost-effective.
Carefully Evaluate Cloud Providers
Companies may find that multiple CSPs can meet their business requirements. Vendors can charge substantially different amounts for similar managed services. Organizations should regularly compare pricing between CSPs when introducing a new cloud service or solution.
It’s essential to avoid vendor lock-in by relying too heavily on a single cloud provider. Companies should strive to maintain the flexibility offered by a multi-cloud approach. Vendor lock-in can drive up costs and limit an organization’s ability to address changing business requirements effectively.
One way to minimize the risk of vendor lock-in is to adopt open source and third-party solutions that can easily be ported to different cloud infrastructures. This strategy avoids being tied to a specific CSP to host business-critical applications. A company can migrate to a new provider to reduce costs or gain an operational advantage.
Optimize Data Transfer and Network Traffic
Organizations with multi-cloud environments can reduce costs by optimizing data transfer and network architectures. Transferring data between clouds can be very expensive. Teams can minimize transfers by storing data closer to where it is needed. Companies can implement a content delivery network (CDN) to supply information to users at a reduced cost.
An efficient network is crucial for effectively controling costs in a multi-cloud environment. Insufficient bandwidth can result in excessive latency, inconsistent performance, and unhappy customers. Look for inter-cloud networking solutions supported by the CSPs your company utilizes.
Adopt Multi-Cloud Governance Policies
Organizations must establish policies focused on cloud spending, provisioning, and resource usage. Management should assign roles and responsibilities throughout the company to ensure the implementation of these policies. Teams should be held accountable for cloud spending and incentivized to optimize usage and reduce costs.
Companies should deploy standardized services when possible to reduce complexity and sprawl across multiple vendors. Developing the standards may entail negotiations between teams currently implementing competing solutions. Teams or departments should only vary from these standards to address legitimate business requirements.
Companies should implement automated alerts to warn management when nearing budgets and resource utilization thresholds. Effective automation can control costs by performing tasks such as scaling, moving data to less expensive platforms, and eliminating extraneous resources.
Negotiate Better Cloud Service Contracts
Management should consolidate billing where possible and look for volume discounts from CSPs. Negotiating enterprise agreements for larger organizations can result in more favorable pricing options. Organizations can save money by combining the needs of several departments needing similar services into a more significant contract.
Consider entering into long-term commitments if you predict consistent future usage. Companies can identify specific resources, like archival storage, that will not substantially change due to business fluctuations. Extended and more economical contracts can address these resource requirements while reducing costs and complexity.
Adopt an Iterative Cloud FinOps Mindset
Cloud financial operations (FinOps) establishes accountability across the organization to ensure the efficient use of cloud resources. Effective FinOps leverages the skills of the finance, engineering, and operations departments to optimize cloud spending and align it with business objectives.
FinOps requires a process of continually monitoring and optimizing cloud spending. Companies can benefit from an iterative process that reviews cloud costs regularly so they can adjust budgets to meet evolving business needs.
VAST’s Solutions to Control Multi-Cloud Spending
VAST has your back when it comes to streamlining your multi-cloud spending. We understand the need for environmental visibility, efficient planning when adopting a multi-cloud approach, and superior infrastructure management. Our deep experience and strategic partnerships with industry leaders put us in an excellent position to help your company optimize its cloud spending.
Our VAST View cloud management platform provides accurate data to implement and manage a multi-cloud environment efficiently. We offer managed public cloud services that let you concentrate on your core business while we handle your IT environment.
Contact us today and start streamlining your multi-cloud spending.
