Cloud optimization is essential as organizations look to accelerate business outcomes and unlock the value of their data. At its core, cloud optimization is the process of correctly selecting and assigning the right resources to a workload or application. But cloud optimization is also a lifecycle process that balances performance, compliance and cost to achieve efficiency. And getting it right is crucial. Gartner predicts that enterprise IT spending on public cloud will exceed 51% by 2025, while Flexera’s State of the Cloud Report in 2023 highlighted that managing cloud spend overtook security as a top challenge facing all organizations for the first time.

Research shows that that 90% of enterprises have a multi-cloud strategy and 80% have a hybrid cloud strategy—a combination of public and private clouds. Only 7% of enterprises are using a single public cloud provider. 

It’s easy to see the complexity of the cloud optimization problem given the use of multi cloud. Many organizations have elected to deploy Cloud Centers of Excellence or FinOps practices with the goal of optimizing cloud spend. But building out a FinOps practice or Cloud Center of Excellence is easier said than done. It takes time and talent. Sometimes organizations are short on both. Cloud optimization goes well beyond simple cost reduction and workload placement and is more about making sure your costs align with your business goals.

Remember the TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? There was a feature on the show called “Phone a Friend.” On the show, the contestant was connected with a friend over a phone line and was given 30 seconds to read the question and answers and solicit assistance. 

Of course, the contestant wants to call the RIGHT friend—the one that can help them with the correct answer and lead them to the money.

As it relates to cloud optimization, workload placement and app modernization, it feels like enterprises need a Phone a Friend feature. But they need to call the RIGHT friend, too. 

Why should you phone a friend? Because you need help to answer the IT question and the clock is ticking. If an enterprise calls the wrong friend, they lose the chance to modernization their apps on time, optimize their costs and digitally transform. In short, by calling the WRONG friend, they lose the game.

Enterprises aren’t just looking for tools that manage resources and costs in multicloud and hybrid cloud environments. Tools are great but you need the right tools in the right order. 

Additionally, organizations need help to build out a roadmap or implement the roadmap especially as they are looking to modernize legacy virtual environments. They want AI powered automation capabilities that span from AIOps to application and infrastructure observability.

They need to win the game. They need the right friend with the right answers to help them win.

There is a strong synergy between digital transformation and IT modernization and it’s a long game. While transformation sets the vision and strategic direction of the organization, IT modernization is the practical implementation of that vision. These initiatives reshape and transform organizations. By embracing new technologies, organizations improve efficiency, enhance customer experience and remain competitive.

No matter where an organization is on this journey, phoning the “Right Friend” can move them along the game board from siloed systems to integrated platforms, from on-premises infrastructure to cloud computing and providing the answers around the move from monolithic applications to microservices. A solid strategy involves knowing which friend to call for guidance to help drive business growth and innovation.