Hidden Costs of Cloud
With potential to save mega money, be sure you are looking at the big picture when considering a switch to the cloud. Check out these tips from NetApp on avoiding some of the hidden costs that cloud can ring up if you’re not careful.
Hidden Cloud Costs
Hidden Cost #1: Migration Costs – It is important to have the migration process mapped from start to finish to flush out indirect costs such as data integration and back up. The more you know up front the more you may be able to mitigate these costs.
Hidden Cost #2: Over and Under Provisioning Resources – Both scenarios can drive up costs. When switching to cloud you must strike a balance.
Hidden Cost #3: Mismanagement of Deployment – For the most part mismanagement that leads to operation disruptions takes place because of human error or lack of automation. The right IT solutions partner can help you identify where automation and process changes need to be implemented before a cloud migration.
Hidden Cost #4: Free Resource Expiration – Most cloud providers provide access to free resources to new clients. It is common that new cloud users are unaware of resource use thresholds or expiration dates – quite often not until the bill is received unfortunately. Before your cloud migration, understand thoroughly what is included in free resources and how much or for how long, so you can avoid future unexpected charges.
Hidden Cost #5: Unused Resources – Many new cloud users do not track server use well. Sometimes servers are left “on” even when no jobs are processing. This can quickly add up.
How to Avoid Hidden Costs
How can you avoid these hidden cloud costs when migrating to the cloud? Planning and limiting resources are key. First create a solid, thorough migration plan. Knowing each step helps you identify possible issues that may drive up costs. Next limiting resources is one of the best ways to mitigate unexpected costs. You can do this by removing redundant data through data deduplication, creating automated workflow scripts to minimize human error and minimizing idle time by prioritizing and scheduling jobs.
When you partner with Evolving Solutions, our team makes sure you cover your bases by asking the right questions and leveraging our cloud expertise to help you plan. If you are considering a switch to cloud contact us before you get started.
