#1 Specialized expertise

While basic cloud functions are fairly accessible to everyone, it takes specialized expertise to use the cloud optimally. Cloud consulting services provide access to experts who have extensive knowledge of cloud technology and can help businesses leverage cloud solutions to achieve their objectives. These experts can help businesses understand the benefits of cloud technology, choose the right cloud platform and services, and design and implement cloud solutions tailored to their specific needs.

#2 The most for your money

It takes knowledge to invest your cloud spend in the most effective way possible. Cloud consulting services can help reduce IT costs by optimizing cloud resources, minimizing downtime, and ensuring that businesses are only paying for the services they need. Cloud consultants can also help identify opportunities for cost savings, such as switching to more cost-effective cloud services or implementing cloud automation to reduce manual labor.

#3 Improved security

Cloud security is a critical concern for businesses, with cyber criminals becoming more sophisticated by the day. Cloud consulting services help improve cloud security by identifying potential security threats and implementing security best practices. They also help businesses comply with industry regulations and standards, such as HIPAA or GDPR, by ensuring that their cloud solutions meet the necessary security and compliance requirements.

#4 Increased Flexibility and Scalability

Cloud consulting services help businesses achieve greater flexibility and scalability by leveraging cloud technology. They design and implement cloud solutions that can scale up or down quickly to meet changing business needs. This can help save time and money by avoiding the need to invest in costly on-premises infrastructure that may become obsolete quickly.

#5 Competitive Advantage

Cloud consulting services help secure a competitive advantage by enabling businesses to take advantage of the latest cloud technology and services. They constantly update their knowledge, staying on top of the latest trends and best practice. This gives them the know-how to help businesses boost their agility, speed, and innovation, allowing them to respond quickly to changing market conditions.

Are you looking for a consulting partner to help get the most out the cloud? Get in touch!

The post Maximize the cloud: 5 ways cloud consulting services benefit your business appeared first on Cloudar.

What are low- and no- code solutions?

low- and no- code development platforms are visual software development environments that non-programmers and programmers can use to manipulate components to create digital products. They allow people to build applications without needing to write code line by line or knowledge of traditional programming languages, development environments or testing protocols.

In low- and no- code solutions, all the coding is done behind the scenes. Instead of lines of code, the person developing the product sees a user-friendly interface. Through pointing and clicking, dragging and dropping, they can manipulate components and test modules to build their digital product. No-code solutions are really geared towards people without a technical background, while low-code solutions are meant more for people with coding skills who want to speed up and simplify the coding process.

How low- and no- code benefits you

Low and no-code have taken off due to a lack of skilled software developers. There is a huge talent shortage in the IT sector. Faster turnaround means a decrease in not only the cost of building apps, but also hiring costs. And it comes with reduced error and greater accessibility, helping to make everyone on the team more productive.

With the huge demand for digital products, low- and no-code helps speed up developments projects and accelerate digital transformation. The ease that low- and no- code solutions provide in creating apps means improved agility to create flexible apps that function smoothly across multiple devices. This helps organizations adapt faster to market changes and customer needs.

Say hello to AWS Application Composer

The newly launched AWS Application Composer is a visual designer for building serverless applications from multiple AWS services. It helps developers simplify and accelerate architecting, configuring, and building serverless applications. AWS services can be dragged, dropped, and connected into an application architecture by using its browser-based visual canvas. AWS Application Composer maintains deployment-ready infrastructure as code (IaC) definitions with integration configuration for each service.

This innovative new tool removes the steep learning curve developers can face when composing applications from multiple AWS services. It allows developers to start a new architecture or import existing template. It also makes it easier to make changes to existing applications, maintaining the visual representation of application architecture in sync with IaC in real time.

The key to low- and no-code solutions is the cloud, where users can access these solutions as a service. Just one more way the cloud is driving innovation! We expect low- and no-code to be used for a majority of development going forward.

Want to know more about how we can help you deploy low- and no-code solutions to accelerate innovation? Reach out to us!

The post Game changer: AWS & the low- and no- code revolution appeared first on Cloudar.

Taking control of your AWS costs

Since the AWS cloud provides over 200 services, sometimes organizations lose track of the big picture when it comes to costs. Underutilized instances, unused EBS volumes, skipping on saving plans, unimplemented autoscaling: these are some of the major culprits that lead to bloated bills.

Luckily there are plenty of ways to cut the fat and get the most out of AWS. AWS has the tools to allow you to take control of your costs and optimize your spend. The beauty of AWS is the flexibility to manage your costs while keeping the capacity you need to build modern, scalable applications. AWS Cost Explorer is a useful tool to help you visualize, understand, and manage your AWS costs and usage over time. To help optimize your costs, actions can be grouped along the following five pillars.

5 keys to AWS cost optimization

• Right-size your resources: Scale your instances to the right size. Get a good overview of your usage using AWS Cost Explorer Resource Optimization to get a report of EC2 instances that are either idle or have low utilization, and stop or downsize these instances. Use the AutoScaling feature to automatically scale (in and out) your DynamoDB table. Review networking and reduce costs by deleting idle load balancers. Identify Amazon EBS volumes with low utilization and delete them.
• Stretch your elasticity: Turn resources off when you don’t need them. That’s the advantage of the cloud model over hardware! One tip is to create schedules to turn off unused instances during idle times with the help of usage metrics. Keep an eye also on EBS quantities when your instances are not in use.
• Choose the right pricing model: AWS offers various pricing models to manage your costs, including on-demand pricing, Spot Instances, and Reserved Instances. Compare the pros and cons of each for your requirements. For example, Spot Instances can save you up to 90% but are not ideal for mission-critical use as they can be reclaimed and terminated last-minute. They are ideal for applications that are fault-tolerant, scalable, or flexible. You can also save up to 72% by signing up to Savings Plans, a flexible pricing model that offers lower prices on Amazon EC2 instances usage.
• Optimize storage: AWS offers a choice of storage tiers that provide different performance and costs. Optimize storage while maintaining performance and availability by identifying the right destination for different data types. Essentially you want to have easier access to certain priority data and use another tier for archives and other data that you rarely need to access. Use S3 Analytics to analyze storage access patterns on the object data set and reduce cost by leveraging lower cost storage tiers.
• Measure, monitor & improve: establish metrics and monitor the cloud environment for continuous cost optimization. Set specific targets and review your metrics on a regular basis. Support teams in architecting for cost and identify team members responsible for optimization. Define and enforce cost allocation tagging for more visibility among teams.

We can help

Optimizing your AWS costs takes expertise. AWS managed service providers like Cloudar know all the tricks and can help you pricing models and stay on top of your usage and resources. To improve cost optimization and maximize your business value, it pays to partner up!

Want to get a better idea for how we could help you get the most out of AWS? Reach out to us!

The post Maximize your value: How to Improve AWS Cost Optimization appeared first on Cloudar.