Why You Need an Amazon Cloud Management Platform and What to Look For

Organizations using AWS (Amazon Web Services) should consider using an Amazon cloud management platform. Why? A cloud management platform (CMP) can help your organization manage and optimize AWS environments while monitoring opportunities to improve efficiency.

AWS allows modern-day enterprises to hire powerful computers on the cheap. Essentially, AWS enables your organization to handle traffic, power databases, and host videos without investing in expensive infrastructure. Using AWS is a no-brainer for the forward-thinking organization.

Why You Need an Amazon Cloud Management Platform

Making a move to AWS is not always easy. Often, it’s not possible to sign up and reap the rewards of AWS immediately. You need to take a careful approach to leverage the full power of the cloud provider. In this regard, you must be sure you’re making the right deployment and migration decisions. This is where a CMP comes in.

A CMP allows your organization to manage even the largest deployment on AWS seamlessly. The governance tools and configuration automation the CMP brings to the table helps business leaders chart the way forward.

Choosing the Right Amazon Cloud Management Platform

Before you go all-in with a CMP, you need to map out your organization’s requirements carefully. In short, you should be able to answer the following questions:

• What do you want to achieve?
• How do you intend to do it?
• What are the reasons for doing it?

Other than that, you need to identify the key features of a good Amazon cloud management platform. Here’s what to look for:

1) Centralized Management and Reporting

Complex cloud environments usually present IT with one major problem – a lack of visibility. The right CMP should deliver comprehensive management capabilities that allow for centralized management from a single user interface.

You should be able to visualize consumption patterns and identify underutilized resources, among other functions. The interface should communicate seamlessly with disparate technologies across your organization’s AWS deployments and other environments.

2) Empowers Users Through Self-Service

The ideal CMP should give your users the power to procure the resources they need without seeking IT approval. In short, end-users can access resources on-demand through a self-service model. This way, they’ll be able to get their jobs done without unnecessary bureaucratic friction.

3) Controls Costs

Cloud costs can spiral if organizations don’t manage them well. A CMP gives you cost visibility across your AWS deployments. Consequently, you can keep track of cloud spend and optimize cloud operations.

A solid CMP, such as CloudBolt, comes with cost management and reporting features. These features help predict cloud spend and identify problem areas.

4) Works with Disparate Technologies

You might want to work with AWS and other clouds in a hybrid setup. For this, you need a CMP that supports disparate technologies. Such a tool gives you access to vendor-specific features of each cloud using a single user interface. Most importantly, it helps organizations to avoid vendor lock-in.

CloudBolt has a blueprinted engine. This engine allows you to deploy a blueprint independent of the cloud technology you choose. For instance, an IT admin can set up a blueprint for a Jenkins server. Then IT can deploy it to AWS, an internal data center, or any other public cloud without changing the blueprint.

5) Future-Proof Integration

AWS is continuously churning out new services and products. An Amazon cloud management platform allows you to take advantage of AWS innovations. At the same time, you should still be able to tap into your in-house legacy systems and other cloud deployments.

See an Amazon cloud management platform in action. Request a CloudBolt demo today.