With cloud services becoming more widespread and complex, cost management and billing require greater consideration and better facilitation, and just as one-size-fits-all cloud solutions are no longer practical, so too must pricing structures evolve and be tailored to individual clients. The global cloud billing services market features an array of vendors, and competition is fierce between the top players seeking to gain pole position while smaller vendors emerge with their own innovations and allures. Making sure the service you choose ticks the right boxes can mean the benefits of time saving, cost reduction, and superior client service, to name but a few.
Though CFOs have traditionally preferred capital expenditure over operating expenses thanks to the advantages of amortization and depreciation of investments over time, the tendency to shift IT investment from CapEx to OpEx is growing as the rapid advancement of technology makes IT infrastructure needs less and less predictable. Just as cloud computing promises flexible IT solutions that allow businesses to react quickly to changing circumstances, so cloud billing links the essential components of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) to provide the tools to monetize cloud offerings, along with the necessary agility to adapt and develop with the ever-changing landscape.
Managing cloud consumption within a company or service provider requires a culture shift, and cloud billing helps make this move by providing organizations with the correct set of tools to manage functional accounting requirements such as quotations, invoices and statements, payment schemes, and user identification via the cloud, combined with the non-functional but as essential security and scalability requirements so advantageous in a cloud environment. The change in relevant management processes further allows organizations to leverage robust cloud billing solutions, providing usage-based and recurring revenue models through user-friendly and flexible platforms. And cloud billing solutions help ensure accurate usage metering, allow defined multi-service and multi-level costing, enable maximized revenue through accurate billing, and offer customers value thanks to relevant promotion and discount functions.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a leading secure cloud platform with an annual revenue of around $10 billion and approximately 2,500 certified partners. It delivers database storage, compute power, content delivery, and further functionality to help organizations scale and grow. Along with the broad range of core cloud infrastructure services provided, AWS promises to accelerate cloud success through their rich platform services such as analytics, mobile services, enterprise applications, and Internet of Things (IoT) while improving operational efficiency and developer productivity through management and developer tools.
However, any offering with such a range and depth of features is consequently intricate, and many users find it difficult to navigate. Herein lies a sub-industry of organizations able to optimize cloud platforms such as AWS and ensure better utilization. CloudMGR is one such organization reducing AWS bills considerably while ensuring the day-to-day management of cloud resources is easier, faster, and more automated.
Providing solutions for both next-gen MSPs with their cloud-first approaches and successful integration of SaaS and DevOps key to their managed service business models, as well as Managed Service Providers (MSP), CloudMGR has launched new services including AWS Billing and AWS Cost Management to provide existing partners with the ability to offer new recurring models and new providers quicker entry into the market. The AWS Billing service lets partners manage their cloud billing relationship with the customer, further augmenting CloudMGR services which simplify AWS cloud management and assist AWS cost optimization. Additionally, the AWS Cost Management service caters to customers billed directly by AWS, providing the opportunity for cost consulting. These solutions can be employed with either AWS direct billing or AWS distribution partners billing services, further assisting companies to capitalize on cloud computing by making AWS easier to use.
By Jennifer Klostermann
