A cloud management platform is critical for managing and optimizing cloud infrastructure. That involves everything regarding operations, security, scalability, and cost management.
Yet, many users would agree that shopping for a cloud management platform can be pretty daunting for one major reason. There are so many vendors, all positioning their products as the best. All the vendors will be talking about automation, cost management, scalability, and excellent after-sales support.
The onus is on buyers to educate themselves on cloud management platform features. How do they, for example, decide on a better alternative to CloudHealth? Critical comparison factors could be cost, adoption, features, and more. Let’s delve into some of the points in deeper detail.
1. Cloud Compatibility of the Cloud Management Platform
The cloud management platform should support the current cloud infrastructure. For instance, a user who goes for an AWS alternative to CloudHealth will need the necessary support from Amazon Web services. This is critical because every provider has unique APIs, services, and tools.
Ensuring compatibility saves users from having to switch between different interfaces and management tools. So, the AWS alternative to CloudHealth should support RDS, S3, and EC2. The same will apply to Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform compatibility features.
2. Cloud Management Platform Automation
In these fast-moving, technologically advanced times, it would be hard to argue about the benefits of automation. Users get higher efficiency, streamlining of workflows, higher efficiency, and more. The result is higher productivity, thus higher profits for the company.
Well, the very same automation is critical in the cloud management platform. Automation in cloud platforms will help with the following.
Faster deployment of infrastructure and applications without the need for manual configuration of resources. With that comes time savings, higher reliability due to fewer errors, and higher consistency.
Automatic scalability of resources, whether up or down, depending on demand.
Automation can help with monitoring applications and resources more efficiently. Simple tips like setting up CPU usage alerts can be critical to identifying and resolving issues faster. Most importantly, that is a fantastic way to ensure optimal performance of the applications at all times.
3. Security Features
Industry giants like Microsoft and Amazon spend billions of dollars on research and development. And that includes the latest security features on the cloud platforms. In 2021, Amazon spent $56 billion and Microsoft $20 billion on R&D.
But, note that we are in no way saying that going for say, a CloudHealth alternative is wrong. Indeed, any company worth its salt will ensure adequate security features in its cloud platform offering.
Users must take time to check that the platform comes with robust security features. Essential factors include encryption, controls, and compliance with industry standards.
Cloud Cost Optimization
Cloud cost optimization is a critical feature when choosing cloud management. No one wants to spend money they do not need to. Indeed cloud spend can escalate significantly without the right tools to manage the available resources.
The preferred cloud platform should allow for the following:
Cloud usage monitoring as a way of cost management. As we said above, usage alerts or tracking lets users know when they exceed specific thresholds. Yet, it may not be due to actual resource use. Idle or forgotten files could be consuming resources in the background resulting in higher spending on cloud solutions.
Cloud optimization recommendations for cost reduction. A good example would be resizing instances to avoid overprovisioning resources.
Detailed reporting capabilities for insights and quick analysis of user patterns, areas of weakness, and more.
Cloud spend forecasting and budgeting to avoid wasting money.
The best cloud platform will allow optimal performance within your budget and resource needs.
Scalability
A tech-feature list would only be complete with a point on scalability. As the user needs grow, so should the technology be able to adapt accordingly. To put it succinctly, no one wants to keep spending money on new software, the more their needs grow. This is a critical point for companies, which, if things go according to plan, will continue to experience growth.
Auto-scaling, for instance, allows for automatic load distribution depending on peak or idle items. For users, there will be tons of savings in cloud spend. Further, the company can avoid over or under-provisioning of resources.
The cloud platform should also allow for the incorporation of new technologies. It should also have in-built redundancy and fail-over capability to protect against the impact of total resource failure. Finally, the system should be agile so that the organization can respond to new business opportunities.
Select a Cloud Management Platform with the Ease of a Pro
We have looked at some critical features when shopping for a cloud management platform. As stated, the onus remains on the users to do proper research on the different features and offerings. But the most crucial step is to have clarity on the user’s needs before settling for the best option.
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