Seeking “Cost Avoidance” via AI? Be Careful with Public Cloud
On Monday, January 13 CIO Journal in The Wall Street Journal reported, “businesses are starting to link their artificial intelligence initiatives with paring back hiring plans, or so-called cost avoidance, in an effort to justify investing in the technology.”
That’s an understandable strategy, as AI can be expensive, and many companies are seeking a provable business case for ROI. At the same time, companies are also adopting public cloud initiatives, and in some instances, having public cloud adoption as part of their digital transformation journey.
For most companies public cloud is not a path to cost avoidance. Staffing for the cloud and retaining that talent can be difficult. As we wrote in our executive report Cloud Challenges:
“The employees needed to avoid (cloud) cost overruns are not easy to come by. Cloud architects, cloud engineers, and other top talent are in demand by companies recruiting hard to make stalled initiatives work…….”
But staffing is only part of the challenge of utilizing the public cloud affordably. Cost overruns are legion for companies going heavier into the cloud, and cloud initiatives abandoned due to cost concerns are common.
If you’re seeking cost avoidance with AI, be careful that your public cloud expansion doesn’t lead to budget-busting unexpected cost overruns.
For more detail on the operational, staffing, and financial challenges of the cloud, read our aforementioned two-page executive report Cloud Challenges: Are Public Cloud Providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure the Right Financial and Operational Fit for Your Business?