Cloud computing is no longer just a buzzword or a trend; it’s an essential business tool. According to Mark Walker, associate VP for sub-Saharan Africa at IDC Middle East, Africa and Turkey, cloud adoption will increase in 2019 as companies battle to remain relevant in a fast-changing business environment. But embracing cloud is not without complexity. Especially when it comes to costs.

The latest IDC South African CIO Survey found that 65% of CIOs planned to invest in public and private cloud in 2019. But while CIOs are being asked to innovate, they’re also expected to keep budgets in check. The same CIO Survey highlighted that close to halve of CIOs struggle to obtain the necessary budget to fund their innovation efforts.

Cloud is changing IT departments’ budgets. In the past, an on-premises strategy included costs related to employing trained staff, renting or buying office space, purchasing hardware and keeping the lights on. When you run your business in the cloud, the type of expenses you incur may be different but this doesn’t guarantee that cloud will be cheaper. Which is why it’s so important to have strategies in place to contain runaway cloud spend.

When calculating the total cost of ownership (TCO) of cloud computing, various services must be taken into account. These include everything from data and storage to networking and compute infrastructure. And cloud cost modelling must account for variations in demand. Do your cloud needs change based on the time of year? Are their specific usage patterns that you should consider when planning for the future? What are your storage requirements? And how do you expect your cloud capacity to evolve as business workloads change?

This is where cloud cost management – or Cloud Expense Tracking – comes in handy. Cited as one of the top cloud initiatives for 2018, Cloud Expense Tracking is a must for any business looking to drive innovation through cloud.

OneView is Nebula’s premier enterprise Technology Expense Management system. OneView gives businesses the capability to automate the management of your cloud usage, while also monitoring the spend and performance of all mobile, fixed-line and WAN expenses. To find out more about OneView, complete the form below and we’ll get back to you.