Cloud computing offers the potential to reduce many IT-related costs. Enterprises can save money on hardware, software, and the maintenance needed to keep pace with the technology by sharing cloud computing resources.
However, often companies are left with insufficient guidance when it comes to estimating the costs related to cloud information storage and processing. Such estimates are needed to identify, prioritize, and justify cloud resource needs.
Cost Considerations
The cost of cloud computing is very much domain – or enterprise – dependent. The benefit you get from using cloud-based platforms, public and private, relates directly to the type of organization you are, and the business processes you support.
Software development and maintenance
The enterprise must ensure that the existing applications are optimised for a cloud environment and that the existing software licences are flexible enough to be used on Cloud and not tied to a specific on-premise installation. If they aren’t, this may lead to an unexpected and potentially expensive upgrade of many other products.
Existing skills and human resources
In moving to cloud-based platforms, there are new skills and talent required that are likely different from the skills and talent you have in place. How much will this be part of the transition cost?
Cost of cloud services when in operation
This includes the fees paid to the cloud provider, in the case of using public clouds, over a duration of time and should include a changing operational load.
Cost of risk around compliance issues
You are already aware of the issues around compliance with rules and regulations. When moving to cloud, you could be adding or removing risk of non-compliance. These have costs to consider, and thus should be baked into the cloud cost calculation.
Initial Costs vs Long-Term Savings and Benefits
It is important to carefully weigh out the costs involved in using cloud computing for your company. As the technology advances, it should become increasingly more common to see the cloud as a better economic option as costs come down.
Everyone is now discovering that the real benefit of cloud computing is not the cost savings it can bring, but the fact that IT can react much faster and more effectively to changes in the business.
The points we have raised are an important, though by no means exclusive, set of prominent concerns when considering cloud, traditional, and potential partial cloud solutions.
Cloud providers have their own calculation services that they use to show basic value, and they use this tool to sell cloud services. Oracle has now its own calculator: https://oracle.valuestoryapp.com/iaas/, and actually does a pretty good job of understanding some of the simple costs and benefits of using their cloud services.
To request a quote for your EPM SAAS application, see the Oracle link: https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/planning-and-budgeting-cloud/pricing
Check it out and see if you can get a better picture of your personal costs and how to deal with them. If you need any assistance with costs related to the Oracle EPM suite, please contact us at Tactic Key Consulting and we will be happy to assist.