# 2024 June For many, the 'lift and shift' to Cloud happened years ago, but with signifiant advances in Cloud computing since then, not to mention hefty investments from the major Cloud players, the opportunities to review and revise your Cloud Economics are many - along with the potential to improve the value you extract from your Cloud, and save money. And if you haven't migrated to Cloud yet, you might be wondering whether Public, Private, Multi, or Hybrid Cloud is the way to go. With AI driving quantum leap changes in the way we use, store and secure our data, ensuring you have a continuous improvement Cloud Strategy in place is more important than ever - especially when it comes to mitigating risk and optimising costs. We know it's not always easy to balance the drive to adopt emerging tech with business goals and budgets. As a tech-agnostic, multi-cloud provider, we're here to educate, guide, and support you on your Cloud journey. As always, if you have questions, or would like to kick off a conversation, please do get in touch. ## For CEO ### **Did you jump onto the cloud bandwagon too quickly?** The global cloud computing market increased by 635% between 2010 and 2020 - a massive boom attributed to the growing number of SaaS, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS) providers. Businesses worldwide couldn’t wait to embrace the cloud and all the shiny new things it promised. However, as these things go, we didn’t know then what we know now. Worryingly for today’s CEOs, cloud compliance and security controls were in their infancy back then, and few businesses had the maturity or experience (or patience) to appreciate or anticipate the risks and compliance issues that would emerge. In short, the rush to adopt the cloud outpaced the efforts to secure it properly. Many deployed their (or their customers') cloud environment using Click-Ops (clickable options). This was an error-prone and time-consuming process that required whoever was setting up the new cloud infrastructure to click through a menu of computing options offered by a cloud provider (think of ordering your new custom-made Tesla, one part at a time, by clicking through hundreds, if not thousands, of options). The potential for costly Click-Ops mistakes was considerable in a long and complex set-up process. You’ll be glad to know that modern cloud migration has much more governance, control, predictability, and security baked into it as a best practice using DevOps. This approach uses codification - aka ‘everything as code’ or ‘infrastructure as code’ - to define, manage, and maintain requisite standards and governance rules in an ever-changing environment. So, for example, controls can be put in place to assure you and your Board that your data is always categorised and secured correctly and appropriately based on its sensitivity. Mitigating risk and ensuring compliance and security become hard-baked into your cloud environment. The other good news is that the controls you need can be retrofitted to your existing cloud deployment. And all too frequently, this is precisely what we are asked to help our customers do. We start with a full 1-10 structured assessment of their environment’s maturity and identify areas of risk. From this point, we can prepare a plan to help them achieve their compliance goal (not everyone wants or needs to be a 10). Whether your existing cloud environment needs a compliance check-up, or you want to start off your new cloud on the right foot with the most robust controls in place from the outset, we’re happy to help. ## For CFO ### Your cloud journey, what it’s costing you, and where to next? As CFO, the cost of your company's technology infrastructure and systems will be an ongoing concern. Your cloud costs can vary significantly depending on how far along you are in your cloud journey. #### Still on-premises? If you carry the technical debt of ageing in-house hardware, systems and internal IT support - or are tied to a data centre (with the associated management and financial contracts), you’ll know exactly what it’s costing you to keep the lights on. What is perhaps harder to place a dollar value on, though, are the opportunities you’re missing out. You can’t leverage new, predominantly cloud-reliant technologies like AI, or grow or scale with speed and flexibility. There’s also the cost of risk, as on-prem requires diligence to back up data daily and remove it to a secure off-site premise to ensure business continuity. The potential costs of remaining on-premises include renewing ageing hardware, lost opportunity costs, the difficulty of scaling quickly, and the cost and risk associated with on-site backups – all negatives that are quickly resolved by moving to the cloud. #### In the cloud, but needing to optimise? Around 2017, businesses rushed to adopt cloud services, and by 2022, nearly [six out of 10](https://techjury.net/blog/how-many-companies-use-cloud-computing/) businesses had moved their work to the cloud. However, few realised that the cost of uncontrolled cloud would result in unforeseen cost increases within a few short years. ‘70% of organisations experienced public cloud costs that were significantly higher than initially anticipated,’ reported [The CFO](https://the-cfo.io/2023/12/15/preventing-runaway-cloud-costs-in-2024/) in late 2023, making managing cloud costs a top priority for CFOs in 2024. With the [cloud inflation trend](https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/news/366570542/Cloud-costs-continue-to-rise-in-2024#:~:text=The%20year-over-year%20uptick,SaaS%20segment%20of%20cloud%20computing.) set to continue, it’s no surprise that ‘optimisation’ is the current catch-cry of CFOs worldwide. In short – if you’re overwhelmed by growing cloud costs, optimisation is your first step to regain control. But does your IT team have the right information to know what’s important and what’s not, and do they understand ROI and TCO for their cloud responsibilities? Without a single pane of glass view of your cloud costs, it’s unlikely. From leveraging spot instances to using containerisation to moving to a hybrid model and [repatriating your data storage to on-premises](https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/feature/On-premises-data-storage-could-gain-ground-in-2024), you can – with your CTO and technology partner, bring your costs back in line. #### Considering hybrid cloud? The hybrid cloud model (combining cloud with on-premises) offers the best of both worlds and is the new and more affordable cloud strategy of choice for many. Innovation, scalability and flexibility give you the best of the cloud, but core on-prem business applications can be retained rather than replaced, and expensive workloads can be run on-site. Interestingly, a recent Citrix poll found that [94%](https://www.itbrew.com/stories/2024/03/01/nearly-all-business-and-it-leaders-surveyed-have-shifted-some-cloud-workloads-back-to-on-prem) of their respondents have repatriated their cloud workloads to on-prem in the last year to control costs. In short – with a right-sized hybrid approach, you can contain and optimise your costs and keep them predictable. Which is music to the ears of most, if not all, CFOs. Reach out if you’d like to know more about optimising or reconfiguring your cloud environment to regain control of your costs or download our new Cloud Optimisation eBook ## For CIO ### **Is your cloud journey taking you in the right direction?** As CIO, security, stability, efficiency, and innovation are key considerations for your technology environment – balanced with the need to ‘keep the lights on.’ While we’d like to say there’s one ‘right’ destination on your cloud journey, it differs by organisation. #### Still on-premises? Even a couple of years without maintenance or upgrades can quickly transform a stable on-premises environment into an unsupported one fraught with risk. This also means you are unlikely to meet stakeholder expectations of high performance, up-to-date security features and functionality, let alone deliver innovation and scalability. Conversely, a well-maintained on-premises environment can be leveraged as part of a hybrid environment – especially if you have legacy applications that you need to run. #### In the cloud, but needing to optimise? You’re in the cloud. So, as long as you have access to the requisite expertise and knowledge, it’s theoretically a breeze to pivot to meet new business requirements and initiatives. But you’re also in a position where cost containment is critical. With generative AI promising to drive efficiency and productivity on the one hand but using significantly more computing resources on the other, cloud cost will become an even bigger consideration. You may also be paying the price for the fast and loose deployment approach often used in the initial rush to adopt the cloud – which not only caused compliance and security issues but failed to deploy workloads cost-effectively. Have you overprovisioned cloud resources? Can you get to grips with the ROI of your cloud assets? Only by going through an optimisation process and fully understanding your current state and services through a single pane of glass can you identify where you can pare back unnecessary costs. (If you’d like to know more about optimising your cloud environment, [download](https://www.fusion5.com/au/microsoft/azure/resources/cloud-cost-optimisation-ebook/ "Cloud Cost Optimisation eBook") our new Cloud Optimisation eBook.) #### Considering hybrid cloud? Depending on your environment’s maturity, moving to a hybrid cloud model potentially offers the best of both worlds – cloud and on-premises. You may already be aware of the noise surrounding the expense and potential security vulnerabilities associated with using a public cloud platform. But you’ll be equally aware of the value proposition. This is where your partner’s expertise comes to the fore. With a readiness assessment and workload analysis, transitioning to a hybrid cloud model (including addressing any internal skills gap) can ensure cost certainty as well as the ability to innovate, flex, and scale. Unsure where to next? If your cloud journey is stalled or uncertain, talking to a trusted advisor about the direction forward is essential to gain an unbiased view. This edition of Spotlight On focusses on "All things Cloud", including: Cloud Economics Cloud Migration Cloud Maturity Data & AI Whether you migrated to Cloud years ago, or are just now considering it, the options around Public, Private, Multi, and Hybrid Cloud can be overwhelming. Director of JD Edwards and Innovation, Shannon Moir, and GM Cloud, Infrastructure and Security, Kris Jackson, dive into the key considerations and concerns for business leaders attempting to get the greatest value from a cloud investment - focusing specifically on cost management, business outcomes, security, and setting yourself up for success in the era of AI. They also bust a few myths, and touch on cost mitigation strategies relating to major changes recently made by VMware. [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfEU4emqHjA) **00:00** Intro **01:12** What exactly does 'Cloud Economics' mean? **04:35** What are the key drivers for cloud migration in 2024? **08:00** Is migrating to the cloud as complex, expensive, and difficult as it was originally? **09:40** Public, Private, Multi, or Hybrid Cloud? How do you find the right fit for you? **11:33** Advice for those considering migrating to the Cloud? **12:55** How to mature your Cloud Strategy for cost optimisation, sustainability, and leveraging emerging tech **14:57** The role and impact of Data & AI on Cloud Strategy **18:14** Myth-busting inaccurate beliefs about the Cloud **21:03** Number one piece of advice for Executive Leaders looking to migrate or mature their Cloud position? **23:16** Latest strategies for disaster recovery and business continuity, in relation to Cloud **25:26** The cost impact of changes at VMware, and how to mitigate these We regularly host online and in-person events to help people stay aware of the latest innovations and opportunities that exist to improve your business. Please check the [AU](https://www.fusion5.com/insights-resources/?filter-solution-service=&filter-industry=&filter-product=&filter-category=events) and [NZ](https://www.fusion5.com/insights-resources/?filter-solution-service=&filter-industry=&filter-product=&filter-category=events) events page regularly as we'll post these events there when they are open for registrations, or let your Account Manager know that you're interested. Are you talking about Cloud at your organisation?