When you move to a multi-cloud environment, there is usually an increase in the number of services that you use. Often, these services become overwhelming, and you cannot properly manage them with your existing tools. When this happens, you have reached a tipping point. You need to invest in a cloud management platform (CMP).
This tipping point is not one size fits all. The stage at which the need for a CMP arises varies from one organization to the other. It usually depends on the size of the organization, the nature of managed services, security and governance, and the skill of the IT team.
So, at what point should organizations introduce a third-party cloud management platform? What are the tell-tale signs? We have compiled a list of signs you should be on the lookout for.
1. Developers are Unhappy
This is one of the most glaring signs that you need a third-party tool to manage your multi-cloud deployment. As the cloud gets more and more complex, developers become more and more frustrated. This is because it takes them more time to allocate resources to applications.
So, how can you identify this sign?
If you are the IT manager in your organization, start by assessing the emails you get from developers every week. Narrow down your search to those emails that are requesting access to cloud resources, such as compute and storage. If you find you are getting too many, then you might have a problem.
If you still use the native tools provided by public cloud service providers, then responding to the emails becomes a chore. You must put these requests into a queue and allot them to IT staff members who specialize in that area. For example, if the email touched on Amazon Web Services (AWS), you have to assign it to an AWS developer. These requests can pile up if you do not manage them well.
The best way to deal with this issue is to use a third-party CMP. A CMP helps to simplify the management of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud deployments. It provisions services that give admins the power to bypass the native consoles provided by public cloud vendors. Moreover, IT admins can use CMP tools to delegate access to developers. Consequently, dev teams can allocate resources themselves and do not have to wait for the IT admin to do the allocation.
2. Increased Risk
If you have a complicated multi-cloud or hybrid cloud environment in your organization, then you’re at risk of a security breach. This is especially so if you don’t have a unified way to manage all your clouds. Without a unified view of what is happening, you will struggle to manage all your cloud resources. This is because of a lack of accountability. After all, it is almost impossible to keep track of who has access to which resources and when.
To have a secure cloud environment, you need to have outlines of your requirements. You also need to understand the cloud resources at play and the person responsible for securing these resources. A cloud management platform can help with this. It keeps track of users, the resources they are provisioning, and the steps they take to secure them.
3. Performance Issues
If users keep sending performance-related queries and complaints, then you might want to consider introducing new tools into your cloud management tool repertoire. Poor resource allocation to applications often causes performance complaints. This means that an app does not get the required amount of cloud resources needed to run efficiently. The app ends up saturating the allocated resources.
The best way to overcome an endemic performance-related issue is to introduce automated resource allocation. It allocates resources based on some preset performance metrics. As an app approaches the set limitations of any cloud instance, other instances launch to help fulfill the app’s requirements. A cloud management platform is the perfect solution for this. These tools usually come with auto-provisioning and orchestration capabilities to help you achieve this.
4. Confusion Related to Cloud Cost Allocation
Having trouble identifying who in your organization is responsible for which part of the monthly cloud spend? You might want to get a third-party solution to solve this problem. Multi-cloud environments are complex by their very nature. This makes it even more important to have accounting visibility across all your cloud deployments.
What does accounting visibility look like?
You want to keep track of the services that are in use, who uses them, and how much they’re costing the organization. It is possible to get all this information from the cloud provider’s native cost accounting tools. However, this task can become complicated as the number of clouds in the multi-cloud setup increase.
A third-party cloud management tool is the perfect solution. These tools can help monitor costs, handle chargebacks and showbacks, and enforce limitations by user or department.