Small- and medium-sized businesses are adopting cloud technologies. However, some business owners may not be aware of certain hidden costs. These costs don’t seem much at first, but they can eventually snowball. Follow these five tips to keep the cloud from breaking the bank.
No standalones
Cloud services come in various shapes and sizes, many of which are standalone platforms with rates that increase over time. Opt for a cloud service provider that offers a suite of products that all work together. It is often less expensive than a group of standalone products. Another benefit of working with a cloud provider is that you receive a single point of contact to resolve your issues quickly and effectively.
Experience matters
If you plan on integrating a standalone cloud service into your system, make sure you hire an experienced integration consultant to facilitate a smooth transition. Integration mishaps can cause serious downtime and cost a lot of money.
Backups are important
Unnecessary or inefficient backups waste cloud storage space. Review your cloud storage data by asking yourself the following questions:
- How many versions of this data do I need to store long-term? The more versions I store, the more it’ll cost me.
- What regulatory demands do I need to meet? Some data may need to be accessible for up to three years, whereas other data can be deleted after 30 days.
- How quickly do I need to access my backups? If it can wait for a day or two, I can archive that data to a less expensive service or offline at the provider’s data center.
Remove users
Many cloud service providers charge by the number of users in your system. If you neglect to regularly manage the list of users, you’ll end up paying for people who no longer work for you. Implement processes that remove users when they leave the company and consider scheduling a regular audit. Ideally, conduct an audit once every six months to ensure your cloud user list is up to date.
Monitor proactively
Ask your cloud provider whether they can proactively monitor your account and notify you of potential issues before they escalate into major problems. This is especially important if you have a pay-as-you-go license that charges based on resource or storage consumption.
Utilising the right technology resources is vital to your business’s success, and so is knowing how to prevent such resources from racking up an overwhelming monthly bill. If you wish to enjoy all the benefits of cloud computing without breaking the bank, give us a call. We’ll be happy to help.
