Apptio keeps track of cloud costs with free tool

Companies worried about their bills for cloud services have a new — and free — option: Apptio’s Cloud Express, which can track usage and costs for cloud services from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Rackspace.

IT departments are increasingly being asked to adopt cloud computing, but they often lack the necessary data and analysis required to make informed decisions, according to Apptio, a company that specializes in tools to help CIOs determine the cost and quality of their IT systems.  Gathering cost information on use of public cloud providers is today a labor-intensive process, but Apptio wants to change that with the introduction of the free Cloud Express tool…