ITAM Review 2020 Research Project: IaaS Cloud Management tools

The need for Iaas Cloud Management is ever-growing within organisations across the globe – whether organisations are new to the cloud or have been using it for several years, there is always the requirement to ensure license compliance and manage cost. With Flexera’s 2019 State of the Cloud Report identifying an average of 35% wasted spend in IaaS cloud, no matter the size of your current bill – it’s important to take action.

Need for tools

While there are several steps one can take to reduce spend on cloud resources that don’t require a 3rd party tool, the point at which one becomes a requirement comes much sooner with IaaS management. The volume of assets, number of stakeholders, and speed of change is so much higher in the cloud than on-premises that spreadsheets and even the greatest manual processes are soon out matched!

There are dozens of tools one can consider for IaaS cloud management – some traditional SAM vendors who have branched out from on-premises into the cloud and other “born in the cloud” providers, whose primary – and perhaps only – focus is managing cloud assets. Different organisations have different needs, different focuses, and different measures of success – so not every tool is right for every organisation.

The aim of this research is to delve into the tools – what are their capabilities, their strengths and weaknesses, what do their roadmaps look like – ultimately – how can they help you? We’ll talk to the vendors to understand their offerings and the features available to give a comprehensive overview of each tool, and we also want to talk to existing customers of these tools. We want to hear your experiences with these tools – how are you using them, the good and the bad, how they align to your plans etc.

Measurement criteria

I’ve drawn up what I believe to be the key requirements for an IaaS management tool – you can see them here. If you believe there are others that should be included, please drop me an email: rich@itamreview.com

Vendor Participation

If you’re a tool vendor with a product that manages some/all elements of the IaaS cloud, please get in touch with me via email here or register your interest via this short form here. There’s no charge to take part in this research – our aim is to provide as thorough and comprehensive coverage as possible, for the benefit of everyone in the ITAM industry.