Better Data, Clearer Budgets

As business units receive their own budgets to procure cloud services, spending can lead to costly surprises, Softchoice concluded. That's why organizations need real-time visibility into who's using cloud services and how those services are being used, the solution provider said. "With granular detail, IT leaders can assign costs back to the right departments accurately" and create more realistic usage forecasts and budgets, Softchoice says.

Solution Provider Takeaway: This echoes a result from a survey conducted in January by Seattle-based cloud services provider 2nd Watch, which said solution providers may find more opportunities in helping customers buy public cloud services. "As you start to get multiple projects, the complexity increases," said Jeff Aden, a co-founder of 2nd Watch. "That's where companies are telling us, 'Hey, this self-service is great for the one-off [project], but as I try to integrate it as an overall solution to my business units and prospects, I need a little more control and management around it.' "