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Unlocking the Power of the Cloud: The Benefits of Cloud Optimisation

3 minute read

There are plenty of reasons for your organisation to love cloud computing – and smart cloud optimisation can unlock even more. 

With cloud technology growing in popularity and demand, organisations are increasingly finding themselves trying to balance technology needs with sprawling cloud costs and tightening IT budgets. Fortunately, cloud optimisation is on hand to address these challenges and open a whole new world of potential cloud-based benefits. 

 

What is Cloud Optimisation? 

You may have stumbled across mentions of Cloud Optimisation upon visiting the IT team, or in one of Microsoft’s recent Do More With Less announcements. If you’ve been left wondering what exactly it means after the fact, you’re in the right place. 

 

Cloud optimisation involves managing and improving the efficacy of cloud-based infrastructure – crucial for businesses who are looking to power growth by optimising costs.  

 

In particular, it commonly involves reducing resource waste on specific business features by carefully choosing, deploying, and scaling the resources each business needs. The result is curbed cloud sprawl, reduced expenditure, and a more effective use of cloud resources. 

 

What are the benefits?

Cloud Optimisation is not just a straight-forward cost-cutting exercise – it’s a strategic process that results in efficiency. As a result, the benefits are far longer lasting and noticeably more impactful. 

 

Through cloud optimisation, businesses can alleviate the burden of cloud sprawl. This means protecting them against taking on too many cloud solutions (many of which nobody will be using), shouldering high costs, and coping with different departments not seeing eye-to-eye.  

 

Crucially, security also receives a boost, with businesses protected through managed identities, visibility, insights, and a reining in of ungoverned cloud apps. Transparency means potential vulnerabilities can be recognised and protect against more easily – which is extremely necessary in new working models such as hybrid and remote working. 

 

Cloud Optimisation and Cost Savings  

Despite the potential for optimisation to secure identities and alleviate cloud sprawl, the cost saving element remains a hugely popular outcome – especially during tricky financial circumstances.  

 

Resources such as virtual machines, Kubernetes, or even straightforward cloud solution licences can be optimised to free up associated costs, highlight lingering project remnants, and bolster business cases for reinvestment elsewhere. 

 

There’s also the flexibility that comes with cloud cost optimisation. Ultimately, costs can be saved, reinvested, or just be used as a way to highlight available (but forgotten about) resources to use on other projects – all contributing to a smarter way of managing the cloud. 

 

Cloud Optimisation and Improved Performance 

Naturally we’re all getting used to working in the cloud, with hybrid working being the norm for most companies. Too much going on in the cloud can lead to slowing down productivity or inefficient processes, while ungoverned usage can open the door for shadow IT, which further contributes towards cloud sprawl.  

 

To combat this, optimising the cloud can ensure cutting down on what isn’t needed, optimising the cloud processes that maximise business performance. By optimising the cloud and reducing wastage, companies can focus on ensuring that their employees have access to what they need, when they need it. With optimised apps and processes, employees can also work faster and more efficiently, accessing up-to-date information where and when they need it. This improved performance can lead to higher productivity and higher overall employee satisfaction.  

 

In short, while your people are likely enjoying cloud computing’s ability to allow them to work remotely, smart cloud optimisation can unlock so much more – including better governance, reduced sprawl, lowered costs, improved security, and enhanced productivity. Phew! It’s quite the list…and definitely worth the effort. 

 

Smart cloud optimisation starts with smart insights. Start on the right foot with a Surveil demo or see what’s possible for yourself with a free Microsoft Azure Health Check. Contact us to find out more! 

 

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