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Cloud promises vs. reality: 3 reasons why the cloud doesn't deliver what it promises
The cloud. It was the promise of scalability, cost savings and effortless innovation. But as the hype shifts to AI, the luster of the cloud is beginning to fade. Most people don't want to believe that or think about it, but it's time. As the technology matures a bit, it's time for an honest evaluation - and it's a bit disappointing, to say the least, for IT managers, SMB executives and anyone else spending money on the cloud. Personally, when I look at evaluations of cloud costs, I find that 99 times out of 100, the conclusion is anything but positive. My opinion? The cloud does not deliver on its promises. Not by a long shot..
I'm curious what you think, so read along with me, I'll be happy to explain what I see and how this can be solved.
After the euphoria comes the bill
In conversations with organizations that have made the move to the cloud, I hear the same story over and over again. The initial euphoria - lower costs, more flexibility, fewer IT headaches - quickly and totally unexpectedly gives way to a very different reality. Costs get out of hand, performance is unpredictable and the promised simplicity turns out to be rather a complicated challenge. Excuse me?
Some are now even thinking the unthinkable: returning to on-premises solutions. And frankly, to my own surprise, I see more and more companies that have already taken that step, or are seriously considering it. This raises one pressing question for me: how is it possible that such a promising technology has caused so much frustration and doubt? Because this is not just a setback, this is a fat bill being paid, literally and figuratively.
In this blog I will take you through the reality behind the cloud promise and what this possibly possibly for your organization also, your strategy and especially ... your future.
Myth 1: The apparent scalability in the cloud
One of the greatest promises of the cloud is scalability. Being able to scale up almost limitlessly and instantly when you need more capacity is like a dream for any organization that has suddenly come true. In my view, scalability should work both ways: scale up and scale down. And that's where the cloud often leaves a lot to be desired.
Scaling down sounds simple in theory, we all know that. But unfortunately, in practice it often turns out to be a complicated, time-consuming task. Old resources remain active unintentionally and before you know it you are paying for servers, storage or services that you hardly use anymore. And I do write ... 'before you know it' ... because that's exactly the problem, often we don't know. The cloud providers are more than willing to let you scale up, but scaling down is discouraged by complex settings, non-transparent cost structures and a lack of monitoring tools that provide precise insight into what you really need and what's become redundant.
The result? You often pay for excess capacity - unnecessary costs that, unfortunately, are no longer in line with the real value they provide. And with each additional bit of waste, frustration grows. Whereas scalability once seemed like one of the greatest benefits of the cloud, in practice it often turns out to be a one-way street that costs many organizations dearly.
If you really want to benefit from scalability, a sharp strategy and continuous optimization is essential - and that requires more effort than the promises of the cloud ever suggested. I'll come back to that later. First to another ‘myth’.
Myth 2: Less management
Management is the hidden burden of the cloud. A common promise of the cloud is that you have less management. No more physical servers, no more cooling, no hardware maintenance - it sounds and feels like a downright relief to many companies. And it should be. But what's not always told is that you sort of trade off one kind of management for another, much more complex kind of management: cloud resource management.
Managing cloud resources requires an entirely new set of skills and tools. Whereas you used to know your on-premises environment like the back of your hand, the cloud brings with it a complex, dynamic environment that is constantly changing. In itself, learning something new, implementing a new way of managing an organization, is not necessarily a problem. As long as it provides benefits. But learning to manage that complex continuously changing environment is not only more complicated, nine times out of ten it is more expensive. After all, you don't always have the necessary knowledge in-house. Investments have to be made. In training, for example. Or, worse, you have to hire external experts. This may make you dependent on these experts with the associated outsourcing costs.
And that's not all. Although your hardware management goes away, many other management tasks remain. Think about managing your operating systems, such as Windows, and your databases, such as SQL Server. Those tasks become even more challenging as they run in a more complicated cloud environment. So the costs of technical management as well as functional management not only remain, but increase due to the complexity of the cloud.
The promise of less management? In reality, a costly myth. The cloud requires more planning, different and more knowledge and therefore more costs than you would think beforehand.
Myth 3: The cloud brings significant cost reduction
One of the biggest (decision) arguments for choosing cloud is cost reduction. But let's face it: the cloud is simply a collection of servers and storage space ... that belong to someone else. And that “someone else” - the cloud provider - is there to make a profit. Nothing wrong with that either. What we often fail to realize is that there is little chance that you will be cheaper off by migrating your on-premise applications to the cloud. Because that cloud provider knows that cloud is 'hot and happening' (which elevates prices) and also that this hardware as well as software needs to be managed. And there's something else going on.
A key difference from on-premises systems is how unused capacity is utilized. If you have an oversized VM in your own data center, you can use that leftover space for other workloads. In the cloud, that happens too - but not to your benefit. That unused capacity is simply resold by the cloud provider, while you continue to pay full price. In practice, the so-called flexibility of the cloud often means you pay for space you never fully use. As if you rent storage space for stuff you don't use, don't fully use the space and the landlord of the space re-rents your unused space. Crazy right?
On top of that, on-premises systems are one-time investments. In the cloud, on the other hand, costs continue, month after month. This makes it difficult to really get a handle on your IT budget, especially if you don't use accurate monitoring and optimization tools. The promised cost savings? That one seems more like a marketing ploy than a reality.
Use the cloud and still control your cloud costs
While the promises of the cloud are far from being realized, that doesn't mean you can't get anything out of it. Organizations can indeed benefit - financially and functionally - from the cloud. The secret lies in how you deal with it. With the right approach, you can reap the benefits of the flexibility and capabilities the cloud offers - while keeping your costs under control.
The first step is insight. It's crucial to know exactly which cloud resources add value to your organization and which don't. You need to figure out how much you're paying for capacity that is barely used, if at all. You'll find that out by thoroughly analyzing what you really need to eliminate your unnecessary costs.
In addition, adapting your applications and infrastructure to the cloud environment is essential. The cloud works fundamentally differently than an on-premises data center, and simply “moving” is not enough. By optimizing your systems for the cloud, you can truly reap the benefits of the cloud.
Finally, it's all about proactive management. Leverage the flexibility of the cloud by dynamically scaling up and down and adjusting resources to meet your current needs. Regular monitoring and adjustments will ensure that you not only save costs, but also that your cloud strategy contributes directly to your business goals.
However, that requires you to design and implement that approach in your organization. But ... with this approach, the cloud becomes a valuable tool and you turn it from an expensive challenge into the cost savings previously intended.
We help organizations regain control of cloud
The cloud doesn't have to remain a headache. At Sciante, we understand the challenges as well as the opportunities the cloud presents. We see this every day with the many companies we help to regain control. We help you get a grip on your cloud environment, control costs and make sure your cloud strategy actually contributes to your business goals. Whether it's insight into your resources, optimizing your infrastructure or proactively driving results - we're working with IT managers daily and help them take back control. We pay for ourselves in no more than 3 months and after that, the savings just keep rolling in.
Want to know how we do it? Schedule a no-obligation appointment and discover how Sciante can make your cloud environment more efficient, smarter and more cost-effective. No obligations, but concrete insights. Click here to schedule an appointment directly.