Hidden Cloud Computing Costs

Grazed from Planet Insane.  Author: Peter Parcon.

Network bandwidth makes up the bulk of the cost in cloud computing as cloud providers may require fees for uploading and downloading of data. Labor is another cost that organizations have to consider especially if the workload is high.

Storing the data is another cost to take into account in cloud computing. With a three year growth rate of data, costs can increase as payment is needed for each month of storage in the cloud…

Taking into consideration the model used in cloud computing will allow users to fully understand the cost of keeping data in a public cloud. One company was able to determine that it was cheaper to keep their data in a private cloud than storing it in a public cloud in the long term.

However using public clouds outside of storing data will take out the need for installing applications since companies can utilize cloud-based applications for their operations. In situations such as this, cloud computing can become a cost-effective solution in conducting business,

Some companies are also holding off the use of cloud computing due issues with the integration of software applications that come from different vendors. This may raise cloud computing expenses and making it more expensive than not using the services of cloud companies.

Integration is important for some companies in order for them to make use of the capabilities that they already have prior to exploring the use of cloud computing.

A number of bigger companies face integration issues when they try to explore the use of cloud computing in their operations. If they do not take into account the cost of integration, these companies will end up paying more than what they prepared for in the first place.

One organization experienced such a problem in integration when it utilized servers which were not approved by the vendors of the software they were using. A good amount of de-bugging was done before the cloud computing service of the organization became fully operational. Despite the cost, the organization was able to put up most of its services in a cloud and facilitated operations and increased performance by 30 percent.

The use of cloud computing brings in more expenses that were not normally included in the budget of the IT executives. Normally budgets would include rental and power, however with the use of cloud computing it would be necessary to change the structure of the budget to accommodate other expenses associated with the use of cloud services.

Organizations should be aware of the costs of setting up a cloud for their operations since a number of providers offer pilot programs which are free for a certain period of time. Prior to using the pilot of these providers, organizations should already consider the costs when the free pilot ends and paid services begin.

Organizations should not focus too much on the low monthly fees when considering the use of cloud computing in their operations. Administrators should take into account the costs both hidden and those that are laid out at the start.