Money for nothing? The automotive cloud conundrum

Adopting cloud is supposed to bring big efficiency benefits. So why do businesses often end up losing control of their cloud costs, spending as much as or more than they did before transition to the cloud? The simple answer is that embracing cloud infrastructure without proper monitoring and analysis makes optimizing costs a serious challenge for IT teams, who have to make sure that duplication of effort and overprovisioning don't become too complex to keep track of.

"Around 80% of enterprises consider managing cloud spend a challenge, [and] organizations waste an average of about 35% of their cloud spend." (Source: Forbes, 2021)

The manufacturing wings of automotive businesses are especially vulnerable to the problem of waste, because production processes are supported by significant digital infrastructure. This means that the process of building and running cloud-native software infrastructure causes many automotive business to experience cloud sprawl in the area of costs.

As data volumes continue to grow, managing compute requirements in cloud ecosystems is increasingly challenging. This rising complexity means that not every company has the time or the ability to understand how to optimize their cloud infrastructure costs and keep them under control.

“Technology evolution is driving massive demand for the next generation of software and data solutions that the industry cannot currently deliver.” (Source: Capgemini, 2021)

Unfortunately, this lack of visibility into cloud computing resources and the struggle to manage them has direct cost implications for the rest of business. To deliver maximum value for cloud dollars spent, automotive companies need to rely on—and invest in—tools that can dynamically match their ongoing needs to the optimal cloud resources.

We understand how to make the most of your cloud investment. By using machine learning and automation, NetApp® solutions allow your workloads to scale and meet application needs with the most efficient mix of instances and pricing models, eliminating overprovisioning and waste.

Our software works with leading cloud platforms, services, and tools, so that you can simplify and automate your cloud infrastructure, ensuring peak performance at the lowest possible cost wherever your workloads and applications run.

Find out more about the solutions we offer:

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This is part two in a four-part series on software development in the automotive industry. Check out part one here. 

If you’re interested in getting your cloud costs under control, get in touch with a NetApp specialists at automotive@netapp.com. Also check out our automotive industry web page.