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The silent threat of cloud degradation: what's your return on subscription (ROS)?
Everything in business is either growing or shrinking—your company, sales, profits, and even your cloud usage. If you’re not actively maintaining and optimizing your cloud infrastructure, your costs will slowly rise and eventually spike, without giving you any extra value in return. In fact, the value of your cloud often decreases while costs go up.
Maximizing the value of your cloud isn’t about spending more or using more resources. It’s about improving how efficient and effective your cloud is, so it delivers more value to your business without unnecessary expenses. Good cloud management ensures you’re getting the best return on your investment, helping your business grow without the added burden of rising costs.
Why cloud infrastructure degrades faster than you think
Cloud infrastructure breaks down faster than many businesses expect, especially when it’s not managed properly. As your business grows, applications evolve, data expands, while the demand on your cloud changes too. You might think your cloud usage only goes up as your needs increase, but that’s not always true. Sometimes, applications are abandoned, but the cloud resources they used keep running, wasting money without bringing any value. In some cases, businesses even keep paying for these resources long after the applications are no longer in use. Are you managing this proactively? If not, your cloud presence could be degrading.
Degradation is largely unnoticed, and relentless. Just as a dripping faucet will waste gallons of water every year these costs accumulate over time. And just as that dipping faucet drips faster every month when you don't fix it, these costs will rise over time if you leave them to their own devices.
The hidden costs of ignoring cloud maintenance
When was the last time you really audited your cloud bill? Do you know what value those charges bring your business? It’s normal for medium-sized companies to have thousands of line items on their cloud invoices, and for larger companies, it can easily reach 10,000 item lines or more. With so much detail, it’s hard to know what every item is actually being used for, and even harder to figure out if they’re adding any value to your business.
This level of detail might seem transparent, but in reality, it’s confusing. Instead of giving you clarity, these invoices make it difficult to spot where you’re wasting money.
Warning signs you’re missing
Imagine your attic is full of old junk. A lot of it hasn’t been touched in years, and you don’t even know what’s up there. Your cloud presence can collect “junk” in the same way.
If you notice these signs, it’s time to take action:
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Your cloud bill keeps getting bigger;
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The price increase isn’t due to your cloud provider raising prices;
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Your bill is getting more complex;
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You’re not adding new things to the cloud.
These are clear signs that your “cloud attic” is filling up with unused resources, costing you money every month. And unlike the junk in your real attic, your cloud junk keeps costing you until you clear it out.
Real-World example of cloud neglect
Recently one of our clients moved to the cloud by “lifting and shifting” their old systems. Over time, they started using more cloud-native solutions. At first, their old on-premise applications were set up with premium cloud resources, which made sense because saving employee time is often more valuable than saving on cloud costs.
Only a few years after “lifting and shifting” their old systems, we reviewed their cloud setup. Many functions had already moved to more cost-effective, cloud-native solutions, but the old resources were still being used even though they weren’t needed anymore. A thorough check revealed that 10% of their cloud spending was being wasted.
How proactive cloud management saves you money
Leaving abandoned applications running is nothing new. We’ve seen plenty of on-premise applications still running long after they should have been shut down. In an on-premise setup, these applications use resources that have already been paid for, so shutting them down doesn’t save money directly.
In the cloud, it’s a different story. You pay for cloud resources each month. When you shut down an unused application in the cloud, the savings are immediate. Even if you have a long-term subscription, those resources can be reallocated to a growing application that needs more resources.
How to take control of your cloud spending
To get control of your cloud spending and understand your Return On Subscription (ROS), follow these steps regularly:
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Identify which items on your invoice are tied to which business functions;
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Assess how well these subscriptions are being used, both overall and over time;
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Determine how each user benefits from the cloud resources and to what extent.
From this data, calculate:
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The cost of each business function;
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The cost per user benefit;
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Whether the cloud resources are oversized, undersized, or just right.
Since IT changes rapidly, you need to do this every month, with the process and the reporting automated.
The long-term benefits of a well-maintained cloud
By keeping your cloud spending in check and optimizing your ROS (Return On Subscription), you can save a lot of money each month. These savings can be reinvested in growing your business or improving your profit margins.
It’s easy to find out how much 10% of your cloud spending is. Just look at your cloud bills over the past year and notice any trends. Some companies waste far more than 10%, and that’s just before you start optimizing your applications and cloud services. I’ve talked about this in previous blogs, and I’ll continue updating you on this in future posts.
Let us help you
Cloud environments are complicated. Understanding where your money is going and figuring out where it’s being wasted requires specialized knowledge. At Sciante, we give you the insights you need to audit & optimize your cloud spending.
Schedule a 15-minute appointment with me, and you’ll learn how to free up cloud spending to better serve your business. No strings attached.