Cloud computing, as demonstrated in Google’s Oxford Dictionary refers to ‘the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.’
With a universally increasing demand for cloud computing, the online world is developing speedily. These days, most online businesses operate with cloud computing on the go.
In simple words, cloud computing allows users to process and manage computing resources as services to maximize business performance. There are cloud providers selling services, depending on cloud cost models. There is always a price war between various cloud service providers, thanks to the growing competition.
End users working with cloud computing technology enjoy multiple benefits to enhance business performance. A user can choose cloud services according to the business requirement. All the cloud cost models and services come with merits & demerits of own.
What are Cloud Cost Models?
The term defines it all! Cloud cost models are basically the pricing structure set by cloud service providers to present computing services.
A user can choose specific plan, which perfectly goes with the requirement, and pay for the same. These are billed per month, and the charges include the cost of all the resources used to maximize business performance.
Despite some service providers even charge for the ordered but not used resources too.
No matter whether you have used the resources, including in the plan or not, you need to pay the exact billed amount. While, there are some flexible plans that allow users to pay for the used resources only.
Cloud cost models include subscription plans as well as the pay-as-you-use plans for user benefit.
With the help of such cloud cost models, the user is benefited from multiple resources at reasonable prices. And, that is what all the cloud users actually want, excellent quality services at realistic monthly costs.
Cloud Cost Models: On What Factors does the Price Depend?
When it is about cloud services pricing, a myriad of factors ask for consideration. Most renowned service providers are in a war to offer better services at competitive prices.
Take example of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. These tycoons are in the cloud business offering somewhat the same services at different prices.
The service providers target to generate maximum profits while end-users wish for premium resources to accomplish better business performance.
Cloud cost models price depends on:
- Initial Services Cost
The original cost of the resources and services are included in the monthly bill. These are basically the fixed initial rates of the resources.
It is the first investment on the way to buy or lease resources. Users can choose from a variety of resources at first, which include, software as a service (SaaS), Platform as a service (PaaS), storage as a service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and more.
- Quality of the Service (QoS)
Cloud service providers ensure top quality and support when offering resources. It is truly the foremost factor to look for when opting for cloud computing services.
And, yes, the better quality services are expensive, as these are necessary for enhanced performance. Cloud service providers offer all-time support, scalability, top-notch protection, privacy, and more.
- Contract Time
It is the period in which the users will use the cloud services. As the term defines, there is a contract between user and service provider for using the cloud resources.
Cloud services cost less when a user chooses to go with long-term plans.
- Maintenance Costs
These are the maintenance charges which cloud service providers spend annually. The service providers use the amount for cloud maintenance, security, scalability, and other tasks.
Cloud Cost Models: An Overview
On cloud, there are several pricing models depending on the quality, lease time, initial costs, and more. The price is determined by the chosen subscription plan, resources used, and the provider’s service practices.
Fixed and Dynamic, these are the two chief categories of cloud pricing models. You can choose the plan (from these categories) that fits business requirement and avoid additional charges for the not-used resources.
- Pay-as-you-Use
Under this pricing model, the users are charged according to the actual consumption. The more is the resource consumption, the higher will be the monthly bill. ‘
There is no need to pay any extra amount; consumers only pay for the used resources and quantity.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) present this pricing model. It is more efficient and results in less wastage.
- Subscription Plans
It is a fixed cloud cost model. The monthly bill is calculated according to the fixed service offered in a plan. The bill remains the same for every month or the specific set period.
- Spot Pricing Models
Represented by Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the best options accessible in today’s market.
AWS uses Amazon Spot Instances to let consumers bid for unused resources and storage. Amazon brought the spot-market model for EC2 services.
The price of this category depends on the demand for resources in the market. The price is determined after discovering the spot market only.
Wrapping Up
There you have it!
The cloud cost models, as reliable subscription plans, have made cloud computing simpler and affordable. With an increased need for cloud technology, these pricing models are helpful to an extent.
Globally, the adoption of such innovative technology proves that pricing standards are necessary to maintain the competition. And, cloud cost models do the same!