Everyone Wants to Save Money on the Cloud.
But How Do You Actually Do It?

Take this to the bank

In just about a week you’ll know:

• Which vendors meet your technical needs?
• What is your optimal cloud spend?
• What’s the right cloud-based operating system/configuration for you?
• What are the best contracting terms you can take advantage of?

Whether you do the Strategic Cloud Procurement Assessment once, annually, or twice a year, the cost will be recouped very quickly based on the recommendations you receive about your technical needs and/or contracts.

How does it work?

For the new cloud buyer

First, James Mitchell looks at what you’re trying to accomplish and assesses your requirements. Next, they evaluate the vendors and recommend which vendor(s) are right for your organization. Then they interview key stakeholders to determine your organization’s cultural readiness to accept the pace of change that comes with moving to cloud services. All this results in a detailed, technical recommendations report.

Already in the cloud?

If you’re already using cloud services, Dr. Mitchell starts with an in-depth review of your SLAs, your contracts, and other procurement documents to determine how cloud was bought and if it could be purchased more strategically and cost-effectively. He examines your cloud usage and identifies the gaps between capacity purchased and capacity used. He’ll determine if there is capacity that has been “left on” that could have been turned off, resulting in savings. Then he interviews stakeholders to understand any cultural objections to your cloud strategy.

For both new and existing cloud buyers

The Strategic Cloud Procurement Assessment not only provides you with technical recommendations, it also reviews contractual terms and the financial opportunities available to you, such as:

• Could you buy a 1-year or 36-month contract to save money over a month-to-month credit card billing?
• Are you/will you be billed in the right currency?
• Are you/will you be paying local prices for servers housed elsewhere?

James Mitchell maintains a proprietary database of historical pricing for all the major cloud services. This collection includes not only on-demand pricing, but also 1-year and 3-year pricing data. Dr. Mitchell matches your needs against this data to deliver recommendations on the best services and contracting opportunities for your organization and advice on how you can improve the economics of your cloud computing.

And where do you go from here?

Strategic Blue Cloud Options

You want to buy cloud services, but it can be challenging. Perhaps your organization doesn’t have a credit card you can use for the services, or doesn’t allow you to use personal cards for this type of transaction. Or maybe you want to procure cloud on preferred terms. Then the Strategic Blue Cloud Options Service is for you.

Ideally suited to organizations with existing cloud usage of $50K/month or more, the Strategic Blue Cloud Options offer tailored billing services, financing of upfront commitments, and even risk-sharing arrangements.  With Cloud Options you benefit from:

• Saving up to 50% by buying through our service – while retaining full technical control
• Fully managed billing that best suits the needs of your finance department
• Available short-term financing
• Dedicated expertise in contracts, procurement and finance available to your team
• Support for the major cloud provides, including AWS, Azure, Softlayer, and their resellers
   

You Can Save Money on Cloud

Regardless of where you are in your cloud journey — from thinking about it, to ready to buy cloud services, already in the cloud, or moving to a new cloud, James Mitchell can provide the tools to help you manage your procurement, billing, and cloud financing, to save you money while helping to reduce your risks.