Survey Finds Businesses Continue to be “Left in the Dark” on Cloud Costs and Consumption

Cloud Cruiser, a leading provider of software solutions for hybrid cloud analytics, today announced the results of a Dimensional Research survey which found that public cloud usage is growing, specifically in use for business applications.  Nevertheless, while those surveyed have found growing trust in running critical applications in the public cloud, many organizations continue to be "left in the dark" when it comes to providing details on cloud costs and consumption.

According to the survey findings of nearly 350 IT professionals who attended the Amazon Web Services (AWS) re:Invent shows in 2014 and 2015, 85 percent of respondents believe it is valuable to share cloud consumption metrics with the business. Unfortunately, 42 percent continue to find it difficult to properly allocate public cloud usage and costs.

"The public cloud is delivering measurable business benefits as companies find ways to manage and mitigate security and compliance requirements.  This drives more organizations to place business applications in the cloud, expanding public cloud usage beyond development and test to that of a flexible business asset," said David Gehringer, Principal, Dimensional Research. "However, IT is expected to provide reliable services and ensure cost transparency so the business can make fact-based decisions about the ROI on services.  In 2016, we expect to see more business applications in the cloud and an increased focus on cost transparency comparing those of internal resources and external public cloud services."

Historically the use of public cloud for ‘sandboxing’, or development outpaced private cloud for business applications.  That trend has now changed. According to the survey findings, almost all participants stated public cloud cost and consumption information should be shared with the business.  But, more than half do not provide that data to business users today and nearly half of IT teams indicated that gathering consumption information is challenging.  With a growing reliance on the public cloud, and the clear need for greater cost transparency, IT will be required to reliably allocate usage and spend for each cloud service.

"Lack of usage visibility and cost transparency are key problem areas which have in turn created demand for new, flexible and easy to use solutions that drive efficiency, cost savings and a way to hold business users accountable for what they are consuming," said Deirdre Mahon, Chief Marketing Officer, Cloud Cruiser. "Investing in the right cloud efficiency solutions will continue to be critical for businesses of all sizes, even during the early stages of adoption."