Azure Increased Prices - Why Do All Companies Care?
Content
It has been 4 months now since Microsoft issued changes to its cloud services prices.
You are probably thinking that it is pretty old news. But since Microsoft announced that changes will be regular, we are now actually using the intermezzo when the strong emotions have already subsided and there has not been any news regarding the new changes yet. The implications of such an approach are not something small, it is immportant for companies to revisit their decision regarding IT and reevaluate if the chosen state is sustainable.
Why All the Ado?
Changes in prices are not something new in our lives. Inflation has been a big burden but we are now somehow drifitng on the wave of slow decrease in prices. And then bam – Microsoft announces increased prices. Azure (the cloud infrastructure provided by the company) is still one of the top 3 platforms companies all over the world use the most. You are probably using it too or at least you were thinking about it.
Microsoft not only increased the price for this year but the plan is to reevaluate the prices twoce a year globally and adjust them to that they mirror the US dollar prices. This way the customers will just pay the same and be able to access transparent and predictable pricing.
First Problem
Let’s start with predictability. Because the pricing will be dependent upon the market state and development of exchange rates, this statement is quite a clear oxymoron. Predicting economic changes is like predicting Win 10 being replaced with Win 11 when the announcement clearly said 10 is the end.
The statement then makes sense that transparency will be ensured because the custommers are sure to see prices undergoing changes.
Second Problem
With regard to the many services and their variations, it is hard for companies to understand how and if the changes apply to them
And it is not only the changes. Whether we are talking about the selection or scaling of IT infrastructure, that is a process that requires a detailed knolwedge of not technology but of specific technologies within the Azure platform. It is a very specilized selection.
What Should You Take into Account?
Such moments come in very handy when companies evaluate the IT infrastructure they are using. They can think about if they want to risk the cloud costs just to receive insecurity related to market fluctuations.
There are also two other areas that deserve the spotlight – licenses and architecture efficiency.
license types
In the recent years, a trend was set to give up lifetime licenses and exchange them for service subscription. You can evaluate if such a model is healthy for your company. This is not just related to the costs you have to expend but also the fact that these types of services cause big problems when the time comes and you want to change them.
If you are waiting for the time the costs reach an unbearable level, then you could be faced with a selection – keep on paying regardless or losing everything you have been building (more information on the exit strategy article).
There is also the option to purchase a lifetime license requiring only one payment. It is true you are giving up some benefits – upgrades and new versions – but you need to decide if such a benefit is required in your company.
Another option are the license-free services – open source ones. You can find them on all levels of the cloud – applications, platforms and even the infrastructure itself. Besides there is no need to go bananas because of pricing and certainty (such is the case with CLOUDPOINT).
architecture efficiency
Ta se vztahuje na celkovou koncepci, jak své IT provozujete. Máte současné řešení, které má nějaké vlastnosti, a také jeho náklady. Ty ale víte, že se v případě Microsoftu budou měnit a to možná i výrazně (dubnové zdražení se rovnalo 11 % pro ceny v eurech).
Je tedy na čase vzít své řešení a předat ho odborníkům, kteří vám mohou dát objektivní zpětnou vazbu na to, jestli takto je to skutečně to nejefektivnější řešení.
Využijte tedy tu dobu na to, abyste udělali hloubkovou analýzu udržitelnosti provozu vašeho IT. Velká pravděpodobnost je, že IT je pro vaši firmu kritické, takže není radno si zahrávat s jeho architekturou.
Closing Words
Price only on the first place. Whether you are using Azure or not, use this time to evaluate your current state so that the changes to prices and pricing politics do not hunt you down. Utilize a free consultation – your CLOUDPOINT.
