Accelerating and Optimizing Cloud Platforms
As we mentioned earlier, the second main element of running an efficient modernization lifecycle is accelerating cloud adoption and optimizing your cloud platforms. When we talk about public cloud, we refer to the foundations of optimized cloud because not all cloud deployments are appropriately optimized—especially as a result of COVID-related impacts that drove many organizations to accelerate cloud adoption. An unoptimized cloud platform can lead to wasted spend, security blind spots, and operational inefficiency.
When we look at an optimized cloud deployment, we can break it down into the foundation of how you consume and the technology deployed on that foundation. A FinOps approach—a collaboration of teams such as Finance, Procurement, and IT—is the core of any optimized cloud foundation. Considerations include the types of agreements you’re leveraging, where you’re making commitments in exchange for discounts, how you’re leveraging and governing the cloud marketplaces, and how you’re optimizing cloud resources to reduce overspend.
These factors together form the base of the graphic below. Lacking optimization can result in significant costs.
According to Flexera’s 2023 State of the Cloud Report, managing cloud spend is the top cloud challenge with 82% of organizations.
As we move up the diagram we get to the technology side:
- Securing data in the multi-cloud world and fully understanding the Shared Responsibility Models of the cloud
- Protecting your critical data sets against accidental deletion, regional failures, and malicious activity such as ransomware
- Creating a connectivity model between your users and your cloud platforms built on high availability and predictable performance, as well as compliance, security, and governance
- Leveraging the appropriate tools and automation to get the most out of your cloud platform
By building on an optimized cloud foundation, you can ensure that you’re getting the most out of your cloud experience and mitigating the risk of overspend and security blind spots.
