As cloud technology continues to revolutionize the way organizations do business, technology leaders and executives are faced with the challenge of optimizing their cloud spending while aligning their technology choices with business goals. In this blog, Nick Lumsden, founder of Tenacity, shares his experience in using data to optimize cloud spending and improve business outcomes.
As a former healthcare industry professional, Lumsden witnessed the power of data in improving treatments and outcomes for chronic care patients. He was part of an organization that managed a database of over 100 million lives for almost 15 years. Using de-identified data, they were able to analyze the healthcare industry through a financial lens and make informed decisions that improved patient outcomes.
Lumsden’s experience in the healthcare industry led him to realize the potential of data in other industries, including cloud technology. He faced difficulties obtaining telemetry data from hardware vendors and manufacturers in rapid-growth companies he worked for in the past. Attempts to solve the issue, including buying monitoring solutions and building application performance monitoring, were unsuccessful.
The advent of public cloud platforms like AWS and Azure presented an opportunity to turn the cost management problem into a big data problem that could be analyzed with AI. Lumsden and his team built a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform called Tenacity AI to collect metadata about customers’ public cloud presence, conduct analytics on the collected metadata, and draw insights from that data. Tenacity AI is backed by human services, which conducts forensics on any anomalies detected in the metadata.
One of the key takeaways is the importance of identifying stakeholders who are critical to understanding an organization’s lines of business and applications. Organizations can make informed decisions and implement solutions that align with their business goals by identifying components that directly align with lines of revenue, shared components, and components outside of those lines. This process is iterative and involves optimization, operation, and informed decision-making. Starting with a small piece that the business can understand and implement, it helps to show the value of the process and changes the conversation around cost-cutting to making data-driven decisions. This process promotes collaboration and leads to increased accountability.
Lumsden also shares two predictions for the industry that technology leaders and executives should take note of. The first is the emergence of FinOps, a financial operations framework that focuses on cloud spending variability but will also include software platforms moved to the cloud. Lumsden predicts that FinOps will bring better operational and development methodologies that are responsive to customers, similar to the movements of Agile and ITIL. Organizations at scale should think about how this practice will evolve internally.
The second prediction is that there will be more data-driven decisions made in organizations regarding technology alignment with business goals. In the past, this has been challenging, but new technologies now make it possible to make real data-driven decisions instead of simply reducing the cost of technology. Lumsden encourages organizations to work together and collaborate in cloud initiatives.
Lumsden’s experience in using data to optimize cloud spending and improve business outcomes is a powerful reminder to technology leaders and executives about the potential of data-driven decision-making. As more organizations move to the cloud, they must align their technology choices with business goals and optimize their cloud spending to remain competitive. With SaaS platforms like Tenacity AI, it’s now easier than ever to collect metadata about cloud presence, conduct analytics on the collected data, and draw insights that lead to better business outcomes.
The lessons shared in this post can help technology leaders and executives navigate the challenges of optimizing cloud spending and aligning technology choices with business goals. By identifying critical stakeholders, implementing an iterative process of optimization, operation, and informed decision-making, and leveraging new technologies like tenacity AI, organizations can make data-driven decisions that lead to improved business outcomes. With predictions like the emergence of FinOps and the continued importance of data-driven decision-making, technology leaders and executives must stay ahead of the curve to remain competitive in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace.
Listen to our Status Go podcast with Nick Lumsden and hear more about his take on the many benefits of cloud technology over traditional methods.
