The experts at Paessler they try to give a realistic overview of the services, applications, and related costs related to cloud management and control. In recent years, IT infrastructure managers have faced questions complex related to the cloud and asking yourself numerous questions about the best approach to take. Is it cost-effective to move workloads off-premise? And if so, is it better to relocate the entire infrastructure or opt for a hybrid system that offers high levels of flexibility? And what about security, resilience, data governance and costs?
The cloud market in Italy
Unfortunately, these are questions for which there are no simple and absolutely valid answers. Because every use case is different and requires careful analysis of the specific circumstances. Generally speaking, the migration of part or all of the infrastructure and applications can undoubtedly offer many benefits and the figures can appear quite convincing. According to the Cloud Transformation Observatory of the School of Management of the Polytechnic of Milan, in 2023 the cloud market in Italy has consolidated.
Manage and control the cloud according to Paessler
In fact, it achieved a growth rate of 19% and an overall value that reached 5.51 billion euros. On the other hand, according to data from the Observatory, almost two out of three organizations (63%) declare that they measure the contribution of the cloud to the company’s business based on cost savings compared to an on-premise configuration. In fact, one of the most reported initiatives in the cloud sector this year is precisely theoptimization the use of resources and related costs.
How to face the cloud challenge
Overall, therefore, the message seems clear: moving at least part of the services and infrastructure to the cloud can bring numerous advantages. However, managing cloud resources as well as evaluating and controlling costs can be a challenge. Of course, all cloud providers offer tools to manage and control workloads and costs within their environments. But often, if taken separately, are unable to provide a complete picture, especially in the case of a hybrid or multi-cloud model. So, how do you get a true overview of your services, applications and their costs?
A source of information
A valid answer is architecture mining. That is, the process of extracting the data contained in the infrastructure management platforms and transforming them into information useful and usable. To obtain these insights and derive the greatest benefit from them, companies must equip themselves with solutions that allow them to efficiently manage cloud environments. According to Paessler experts, these solutions should guarantee:
complete visibility of the cloud infrastructure. These platforms must provide reports and dashboards from selected sources from which to extract data automatically. Also with the desired frequency for quick visualization and evaluation of the security and interdependencies between all elements. This way, you will immediately have information, analysis and quick tips that can be presented in different formats, such as diagrams, tables and graphs. Manage and control the cloud
Cost control and expense mapping. The cost challenges of cloud migration are often a nebulous pain point for businesses. So these tools must be able to provide real support through in-depth analysis that maps expenses based on various factors, including groups and types of resources. Furthermore, by allowing this information to be displayed in the form of graphs and reports, these solutions aim to increase ease of use. They also provide a overview general of the costs incurred. In this way, it is possible to see exactly where the expenses come from and make even more informed budget choices regarding the value of services and applications.
Provide accurate insights and reports
Integration with the management suites in use. Such solutions must bring clarity and increase control in cloud-based environments. But that is not all. If you have hybrid architectures, with some infrastructures, applications, services and data still on-premise, or systems managed only internally, solutions of this type – such as Qbilon, provided by the company of the same name acquired by Paessler – can be integrated with the management suite in use. This allows us to provide a set of insights and accurate reports on different areas of interest that other tools that operate in isolation are not able to generate.