Avoid strapped IT budgets with cloud cost optimization

Four steps to optimize costs through cloud app development planning

If app development planning is required to optimize your cloud, there's an easy approach to get what you need.

First, try to use the highest-level cloud service possible, which means selecting PaaS before IaaS for development. PaaS displaces software licensing and support costs, which often presents better value. If businesses choose a PaaS platform that isn't compatible with current internal IT practices, the learning curve could be long and expensive.

The most important application design consideration is that using PaaS constrains the middleware features applications can use. To validate that the PaaS software will actually meet application needs and at least near-term potential functional enhancements, businesses should have a development review.

Second, always start application plans with basic services. Organizations tend to build toward their stated goal whether it's right or wrong. The most vanilla service that suits your needs achieves the best cloud pricing. Businesses need to justify taking a different path.

Basic services normally mean metered CPU usage, data access charges and activity charges -- which means network usage into and out of the cloud. Good database design practices may limit data access costs, and careful application GUI review may reduce network usage charges.

Third, consider the value and price of enhanced cloud features and tools in your design. For example, if you think your application might benefit from elastic scaling, incorporate it in the design -- as long as the changes don't break your benefit model.

Some enhanced cloud features, such as DBMS, DevOps and reserved instances, are easy to assess, either because an application needs them or they create an obvious benefit. Other tools, such as caching, queuing or workflow services, replace functions that your own app could provide, but manage them more effectively for the cloud. If these cloud-specific features are valuable, then the services are likely worth buying. However, it's important to carefully review the benefits and costs.

Fourth, design applications to modularize the use of special cloud features. This helps businesses easily change the application to adopt or eliminate features, depending on cost and benefit analysis.

Many enhanced cloud features and tools replace similar features that would normally be built into the application. While basic cloud services are highly competitive and compatible, these enhanced services vary among providers and may not always be available or competitively priced. When using these services, businesses should structure programs to easily remove them in favor of in-house implementations, if necessary.

Finally, don't build the application to depend on elasticity, redundancy or other cloud bursting features you won't use. Companies may be tempted to design applications and buy cloud services that can be scaled or support failover. And if that's actually necessary, it's a good decision. But features that support location diversity or scaling will cost more. Be prepared to add them, but not until they're necessary. Careful planning will save money in the long run.

About the author:
Tom Nolle is president of CIMI Corp., a strategic consulting firm specializing in telecommunications and data communications since 1982.