Solving Cloud Sprawl: What Does It Mean?

Solving Cloud Sprawl is the term we have been using to describe the growing complexity of managing cloud access and spend. Before you solve it, you have to know what it is. Cloud services come from companies and services like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, and if you have these services then you know that the invoices are increasing and becoming more complex. The jargon from the IT groups explaining this is similarly becoming more complex and harder to understand. Cloud sprawl is the growing use of ‘easy to turn on’ cloud services while having no idea how these services are being justified, versus the old paradigms of capital investments in computer systems and data centers.

A recent Wall Street Journal article explains some of the drivers of cloud sprawl, and further validates what we hear from our clients every day.

Managing cloud sprawl means maintaining control over everything, from users to cloud services to the data itself. As organizations grow their cloud commitment, a new set of concerns is surfacing including cost spikes, misallocations, overruns, security concerns, and breaks in compliance. Moving forward is critical. Total visibility of your cloud operational expenses, such as which teams are using more or less resources, compliance, and security is only the first step. Organizations need a window into their cloud operations to identify opportunities for improved cloud management. This includes waste, policy infractions, and security lapses.

We use a tool that analyzes your cloud (AWS or Azure) to provide a Cloud Check-Up. The output is a customized report that highlights your opportunities to save valuable cloud budget, fix over-spending, and identify security and compliance breaks. The Cloud Check-Up is 100% managed, with no interruption of service, performance strains, or security vulnerabilities.

This typically saves an organization up to 30% of its monthly spend on cloud services. Our other services dig into root causes to help minimize future occurrences of Cloud Sprawl.

Want to hear more about saving money while further protecting your assets? Give our team a call.

—Jim Wadella, Owner/Founder