Cloud Cruiser has released version 4 of its cloud usage tracking system which is much better suited for use in hybrid public and private cloud environments. Previous versions of the platform were fed data on cloud usage in different environments and presented that information in a simplified form to allow IT managers determine how much their monthly cloud spending would be.
The latest release of Cloud Cruiser includes a new analytics module – called Insights – which analyzes all data collected by the platform and provides users with much more detailed information on cloud usage across different providers and by different divisions within an organization. Those figures can then be used to determine how much of the total budget is being consumed by different parts of the business.
The new capability of the platform helps IT managers compare current and projected usage to their budgets to anticipate overspending. Project trends can be analyzed, and potential problems can be identified before they happen, allowing action to be taken to ensure sufficient resources are provisioned.
The platform also analyzes usage of specific resources and can identify which are being utilized efficiently and where there is overprovisioning, providing the intelligence to allow users to right scale resources. One example provided by Cloud Cruiser involved a customer that had created 20,000 virtual machines. By analyzing which were being used efficiently and those that had excess capacity, the firm was able to make a 7% saving on its $90 million a year IT budget.
The platform works with service provides such as AWS and Azure and can be used to monitor VMware, open-source KVM or Microsoft virtual machines running in public clouds – one of just a few cost management solutions that can pull out that information and provide insight into VM operations.
The platform can be used to determine current use of cloud storage and make predictions using storage trends to help users with capacity planning. Cost comparisons can also be performed to allow organizations to determine which cloud services provide the best value. The platform can also compare the cost of public versus private cloud operating costs to assist in the decision-making process and reduce cloud spending, allowing funds to be directed to other parts of the business.
