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A decade ago, cloud management was all about saving money for the small- or mid-size business. Your IT team was able to access the services they normally performed in-house, but at a lower cost and paying for only what they needed. It was a way to access infrastructure without purchasing hardware or committing to a depreciation schedule.

Effective cloud management has switched its focus from being all about cost savings. The new and more expansive view of the cloud focuses on the potential for innovation. Through Platform as a Service and Function as a Service, organizations can keep pace with customers’ expectations and improve business partner ecosystems. Whether it’s Internet of Things (IoT) analytics or serverless databases, businesses can access the elements they need to increase agility and embrace flexibility to fulfill business objectives.

The reality of cloud management: The potential is not being tapped by companies accustomed to buying cycles of three to five years in a market where cloud platform services roll out at a weekly rate. These enterprises are unable to leverage the innovative features and functions that could allow them to experience a disruption and outpace competitors.

If organizations want to capture the innovative potential of the cloud, they need a new approach to management and optimization:

Efficient cloud management: Enterprises could benefit from deploying cloud management services to maintain current applications and support new technology adoption. These management services should be adaptable to either allow users complete control over cloud operations or to prioritize agility, ease of use and full autonomy. Companies also need to invest in their talent if they don’t have the skills in-house to support effective cloud management and maximize the benefits the company could achieve with its cloud strategy.

Continual optimization: Cloud optimization services are useful for ensuring maximum value is pulled from the cloud estate. These tools allow your enterprise to determine how innovations are consumed, purchased and used in your organization. Fine-tuning can be applied to cut waste and administrators can watch for discounts or pre-purchases to help the company gather the most possible benefit.

Insightful purchasing and use: Costs can spiral out of control when buying capacity and services are given inadequate cloud management oversight. In addition, complex invoicing from multiple cloud vendors creates the challenge of sifting through thousands of line items to gain an understanding of what services have been purchased and by whom. Companies can invest in cloud consumption services to better resolve spending and consumption issues.

Utilizing cloud management platforms: The increasing complexity of cloud services in enterprise IT demands the use of cloud management platforms with a single control plane for better visibility and effective optimization of cloud solutions. These solutions help enterprises support optimization while also managing consumption.

If your cloud investment isn’t delivering the cost savings or the innovation you had expected, contact us at Xceptional. We can help you leverage the best cloud management solutions to ensure that all the benefits of the cloud are optimized for your needs.