The Advantages of the Cloud Pricing Model
The Cloud Pricing model. Say good-bye to inflexible and locked-in compute environments and say hello to a customized, optimized, a la carte style environment - an environment where you can scale your resources any time of day, any day of the year, for any reason. Not only that, your cost directly reflects the customized environment you have created in the cloud. Let’s review what a cloud environment should look like and how the cloud can optimize your business needs and then explain how the cloud pricing model works to your advantage.
Cloud Structure. The ability to step into a customized compute environment is key to business agility – not to mention convenient compared to On Prem. As we have stated before, not all applications need the same resources or have the same requirements. The takeaway from the homework you did in finding your applications’ value to the business was understanding the hierarchy of your applications. (See last blog) The applications at the top tier are most critical to the business and thus require higher service levels and the applications on the lower tiers respectively have lower service level needs.
Cloud Optimization. The cloud allows you to choose specific performance requirements for each application and is an optimal environment for transient workloads. The cloud model also works great for business objectives like Recovery Time Objectives (RTO: meaning how fast the application needs to come back up) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO – meaning at what point in in time does the company need to go back and recover its data). If your RTO needs to be quick, let’s say in the matter of minutes, then it would be considered a top tier app. Same goes for RPO. If you need a relatively fast RPO for an application, let’s say 30 minutes to an hour, then it would be considered a higher tiered application. Being able to tolerate recovering data that is older and tolerating living without an application for a few hours suggests that those applications are going to be on the lower service level tiers.
Cloud Pricing. In the cloud, pricing directly reflects the customized cloud environment you have created; it reflects the service levels that you have attributed to each application. In order to take full advantage of the cloud and the price advantages it gives, we cannot over express that you must gather your requirements and understand each of your applications value to the business. With each app having it’s own dedicated performance requirements, you can save substantially in comparison to the On Prem model where everything typically adheres to one standard. With the cloud, you have the ability to make changes for your environment with a snap of a finger (business strategy changes, governance changes, etc.) and in the cloud, price respectively changes as your business changes. The cloud’s pay as you go advantage for transient work loads is just smarter too. There is no guess work in buying hardware and software for peak business seasons or for how the business will perform in the future therefore, your budget isn’t being spent on the hopes of the future or wasted on the slow seasons of the business.
Net3 Technology offers a white glove approach that encompasses planning, constructing and supporting your business and cloud needs. N3T has the experts and cutting edge technology that can make your cloud migration successful. Check out our cloud, PvDC, and Follow us on Twitter @N3TTech and LinkedIn to see more of what we offer. Contact us at 888-499-0862 to discuss your move to the cloud.
