Free RightScale Service Predicts Cloud Costs
Looking to include the fees from using public cloud services into your IT budgets? Cloud management provider RightScale today launched a free Web-based service that helps customers predict cloud costs.
RightScale, one of the largest independent cloud management providers, said it has acquired ShopForCloud for an undisclosed amount and re-launched the service as PlanForCloud.
The cloud forecasting service is designed to help customers predict the cost of using public clouds based on various usage models including compute, storage, file transfer and database. The models take into account usage patterns and fluctuating prices from different cloud providers. Based on those models, the service creates forecasts and generates reports.
"Knowing the cost of cloud services is critical whether companies are making their first foray into cloud computing, planning to deploy additional resources or managing their overall budget for cloud spending," said RightScale CEO Michael Crandell, in a statement. "PlanForCloud provides users a forward-looking view of costs and perfectly complements our existing cost reporting and tracking features in the RightScale Cloud Management Platform. The combination will allow businesses to manage their current and past cloud spending as well as their future cloud budgets."
PlanForCloud pulls configuration and pricing data from Amazon Web Services, Google Compute Engine (GCE), Microsoft Windows Azure and Rackspace. RightScale said it plans to work with other cloud providers in the future. The service lets customers forecast costs of the cloud service providers supported and creates three-year reports to help IT managers incorporate the projected cost of those services into their budgets.
RightScale is offering the free service to anyone, whether or not they are existing customers. Naturally the company hopes the service will be a draw for its cloud configuration, provisioning, automation, monitoring and governance services, which provide common management of private, hybrid and multiple public cloud services.
Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 07/18/2012 at 1:14 PM