David Linthicum published a good article on the lack of IT cost analysis and planning related to cloud a few weeks ago that is worth some discussion. The article highlights a study from the Big Data Group’s called the Cloud Cost Benchmark Study, which indicates AWS users are significantly underutilizing their usage of cloud, thus undercutting potential cost savings and highlighting large cloud inefficiencies. VentureBeat featured a similar story back in August 2012 saying “The cloud eats two-thirds of your cash“. Both of these articles, and the trend in general, highlight exactly why 6fusion’s “metering first” approach is gaining traction.
Take this quote from Linthicum’s article for example:
“Planning means that we do some detailed modeling of how our system will exist within the target cloud platform. This includes utilization of resources, and a model that depicts the cost of operating the system over time, and looking at ways to make the use of a cloud service more cost effective.”