The best cloud optimization service make it simple and easy to help you allocate resources correctly and optimize performance, reliability, compliance, and cost.
1. Best for AWS users
2. Best for cost management
3. Best for reporting
4. Best for multi-cloud
5. Best for performance
6. FAQs
7. How we test
Cloud computing is all the rage now because of the benefits it offers. Any individual or business can now spin up an app or website and host it on a cloud server. Gone are the days when people needed to buy and maintain their own servers or sign long-term contracts with a co-location provider for server space.
The “cloud” is a metaphorical term referring to a network of servers connected to the internet. These servers are physical computers just like the type you’re using to read this article. The difference is that they are designed primarily to host online content and display it when called for.
You can choose from many cloud providers out there, e.g., Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, etc. Cloud providers give you access to many types of computing resources, and it’s easy to get confused. That’s why you need a cloud optimization service to help you allocate resources correctly and optimize performance, reliability, compliance, and cost.
There are many cloud optimization services out there, and it can be challenging to pick a suitable one. To help you, we tested different services to select the best ones. We narrowed our list based on important factors like features, pricing, performance, etc.
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The best cloud optimization service of 2024 in full:
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Best for AWS users
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s biggest cloud computing provider, serving hundreds of thousands of customers. It offers a native cloud optimization service called CloudWatch.
CloudWatch is built primarily to help people monitor their resources on AWS, but it also works with other cloud computing services. This platform gives you deep visibility into your infrastructure. You can collect performance data on over 70 AWS services and quickly identify any issues. You can collect and store performance logs on all your AWS resources and those from other cloud providers.
CloudWatch allows you to troubleshoot your AWS instances at the click of a button. You can visualize key metrics with every resource, e.g., CPU utilization. You can set alarms based on custom triggers, e.g., if there is any downtime with an instance or if an instance gets overloaded. CloudWatch has sophisticated security features to control who has access to your data.
A good thing about this platform is that there’s a free tier, although with limited features. Pricing for the premium tier depends on your custom cloud setup.
Best for cost management
CloudZero is a cloud optimization service with a focus on managing costs. It gives users deep insights into their cloud costs and helps them get the best performance on as little a budget as possible.
CloudZero monitors your cloud usage effectively and detects cost anomalies. It uses hourly spending data to determine "normal" cloud spend and automatically gives you an alert if it detects abnormal spending from a resource. This feature helps you prevent overspending.
CloudZero enables you to create and stick to a cloud budget. You can allocate a specific amount per project, team, app, etc., and the platform will ensure that you never cross that amount. You can send updates to relevant teams about how they’re complying with their allocated budgets.
This platform enables you to visualize your spending data for easy understanding. For instance, you can generate a chart of your spending on different cloud vendors over the past year and compare them. CloudZero works with the most popular cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, etc.
Best for reporting
Apptio is a well-known cloud management platform. It offers a cloud optimization platform aptly called Cloudability. This platform enables businesses to optimize their cloud resources for speed, performance, and cost.
Cloudability is famous for its analytics and reporting features. The amount of data and reports it can generate from your cloud usage is second to none. This platform not only lets you create budgets but you can also forecast your future cloud spending based on past usage. It offers a Savings Automation feature that automatically looks for how you save money on your cloud resources while delivering optimal performance; you can quantify and track your savings over time.
You can allocate your cloud spending meticulously, e.g., setting budgets for each instance, and Cloudability ensures that you can don't spend past your intended budget. You can generate detailed reports and visualizations to share with colleagues or present to stakeholders.
Apptio doesn’t have a standard plan. The pricing depends on your custom cloud setup, and you’ll have to contact the company’s sales team for a quote. This tool is known to be quite expensive, making it only suitable for big companies with equally big IT budgets.
Best for multi-cloud
BMC Helix is a well-known IT service management platform. Among the many features it offers is a cloud optimization service designed for hybrid infrastructure.
First of all, BMC Helix makes it easy for businesses to migrate from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud. It helps you create and execute a stress-free migration plan and forecast costs accurately before the migration begins. After that, optimization takes place.
You can use BMC Helix to automate your cloud cost reporting. It'll automatically generate detailed monthly or annual cost reports for the different cloud providers you use. This platform gives you extensive visibility into all your cloud assets and resources; you can automatically create dependency maps to see how they're linked to each other.
Just like most cloud optimization platforms, BMC doesn’t have standard pricing. You’ll have to contact the sales team for a quote, and the pricing depends on your custom technical infrastructure.
Best for performance
Virtana is a popular cloud optimization service. This platform incorporates artificial intelligence to analyze your cloud usage and fetch insights for improving performance, uptime, cost-effectiveness, etc.
Virtana provides features to help you monitor and improve your cloud performance. You can visualize the performance of your cloud resources and identify anomalies. You can then troubleshoot specific resources when you observe any anomalies. You can allocate resources automatically based on demand or forecast the cloud capacity that you'll need at a future date.
You can generate detailed reports about your cloud performance to present to others. You can also set automated alarms for specific anomalies.
Virtana can automatically scan your cloud usage and identify changes to make to reduce costs while maintaining optimal performance. A typical scan takes less than 20 minutes, but note that the results aren’t always accurate. This platform lets you analyze your costs in real-time and generate detailed reports about them.
Pricing for cloud cost management is $5 per cloud resource per month, which is relatively affordable. Pricing for full workload management is $19 per month per cloud resource.
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Best cloud optimization service FAQs
How to choose a cloud optimization service
Cost
Cost is the first thing to consider when choosing any software tool. It’s essential to choose a tool that you can afford in the long term. The price for cloud optimization services usually depends on your custom technical infrastructure, so always try to estimate the costs beforehand. Read the fine print to see if there are any hidden costs and check if there’s a free trial to test the features before making any payment.
Customer support
Things can go wrong at any time, and you may need external help to rectify your issues. Ensure the cloud optimization service you choose has a good reputation for customer service; check user reviews and articles to confirm this. You should be able to contact a human support representative whenever you need one. You should also have access to complementary support resources such as user guides, manuals, and video tutorials.
Ease of use
Your cloud optimization service should be easy to use and navigate, especially if you’re managing multiple cloud providers from the same platform. A platform that’s difficult to navigate can frustrate you and cause costly mistakes.
Essential features of a cloud optimization service
Cost management
Managing costs is one of the essential parts of optimizing your cloud usage. Your optimization platform should give you deep visibility into your cloud spending whether you’re using a single provider or a hybrid setup. The platform should be able to identify anomalies that are driving up costs so that you can do something about it. You should be able to set a budget and ensure that your cloud usage never surpasses it.
Real-time monitoring
Cloud computing providers offer different types of instances. For example, AWS offers over 300 instances designed for different processes. Your cloud optimization service should allow you to monitor all your resources in real time and ensure they're functioning as needed. You should be able to correct any issue that you notice immediately to prevent performance degradation.
Automation
You should be able to automate some cloud-related tasks. For example, you can automatically allocate cloud resources based on customer demand. This way, you’ll only use just the resources you need instead of renting unnecessary server space in hopes of a future traffic uptick.
Automation helps prevent manual errors in cloud management and ensures optimal performance for your customers.
How we test
We test by evaluating numerous factors. To start with, we look at the feature set, the range of tools available, and what size of businesses this would be ideal for. We consider how easy the setup is, the simplicity of the interface, and whether there's sufficient documentation and tutorials for users to utilize necessary options optimally.
We assess how well the service integrates with other relevant apps, and check the overall scalability of the service. We also analyze whether there are collaboration features for multiple users, and lastly, we judge the quality of the customer service and the different pricing plans available.
Read more on how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.
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