The days of prepurchasing massive amounts of equipment in cycles of three to five years are long gone, since the new normal in the cloud is purchasing extremely small units of resources for pennies on the hour, rendering traditional financing and processes ineffectual.
straightforward comparison of businesses’ operational costs
| Traditional Datacenter Process | Modern Cloud Process |
| To accommodate unforeseen growth, the equipment was purposefully larger and included with built-in space capacity. | Equipment was purposely enlarged and equipped with built-in space capacity to support unanticipated development. |
| Throughout the equipment depreciation lifetime, built-in space capacity could be accommodated. | Because capacity does not need to be prepurchase, businesses can save money by not paying for capacity when it is not necessary. |
| It was not a problem if one service consumed more capacity than was reasonable unless the capacity was running low. | Higher operating costs arise when services utilize more resources than they require. |
| Cutting back on resources wasn’t going to save anything. | Businesses can save costs by avoiding using capacity when it’s not required. |
| Throughout the equipment lifecycle, capacity management was a key cost control measure. | Capacity management is not a huge concern because cloud service providers provide capacity. |
| The distribution of services resources would be examined and modified when capacity was approaching a minimum. | Realized reductions are the outcome of scaling down the resources allotted to the service. |
| The equipment was purchased with upfront payment, with potential monthly costs such as datacenter fees and software licensing that were clearly recognized. | Resources might be used up during peak usage and then depleted during quiet periods. |
| Costs were reported and reviewed monthly or quarterly | Billing has become more complex due to the micro-amount charges made to each resource independently. |
