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2Gain Visibility Into Apps
It may seem simple, but the first step an organization should take in managing its cloud environment is to understand which apps its employees are actually using. A recent eye-opening survey indicated that the average enterprise uses more than 450 cloud apps, and this figure proved to be 9-10 times greater than the average corporate IT team estimated.
3Cut Down on Cloud Spending
4Understand Hidden Charges
5Remove Multiple Contracts
The siloed nature of many organizations today plays a significant role in unnecessary cloud spending. For example, the sales and marketing departments could both inadvertently have contracts with the same provider, such as Salesforce. The organization should cancel any instances of multiple contracts with the same cloud vendors.
6Eliminate Unused Cloud Licenses
7Get the Best Deals
8Involve IT
“Shadow IT” is a major issue facing enterprises today and can lead to many issues, including security concerns. To maintain security and prevent potential liabilities, the organization should include the IT department in any cloud purchasing decisions. By engaging IT, organizations can better ensure that enterprise-ready cloud offers/solutions are provided.
9Centrally Manage Cloud Assets and Expenses
Once the organization understands which apps employees are using and where money is being spent, it should create a central portal from which this can all be managed. Central management of cloud assets and expenses will significantly reduce the complexity of managing cloud contracts and help to eliminate duplicate contracts.
10Accurately Allocate Cloud Assets and Expenses
11Consider a Third-Party Provider
If the process of managing cloud apps today, and on an ongoing basis, seems like a lot of work, the organization should consider turning to a third-party provider that can provide an objective assessment of cloud usage. This oversight can help the organization realize the best possible value from its cloud investment.