With inflation and energy prices rising across the world, it’s time for companies to take a different approach in selecting their server infrastructure or cloud technologies. I see an opportunity for companies to keep a thriving mentality (instead of going solely into survival mode) during the 2023 economic season, and in order to do so, two critical things need to happen.
- CTOs should be open to the understanding that hyperscalers are not the only source of high-quality performance and ease of deployment.
- CFOs should take a more prominent role in the infrastructure decision- making process and capacity planning.
Hyperscalers are not the only solution
I’ve noticed that CTOs usually select hyperscalers, mostly for their brand recognition. They’re the giants of the industry and CTOs seem to take this as the indicator for the best quality and performance, but it can also come with a significantly higher monthly cost, especially with bandwidth consumption. The truth is companies can get the same level of performance (if not better) at a lower cost if they are simply willing to explore alternative solutions and providers. With the right provider, they will get a trusted advisor along with a personal touch that’s often missing. This is where CFOs should professionally challenge their C-level colleagues when it comes to planning and selecting their infrastructure needs – ensuring an optimal cost to capacity ratio.
Let me be crystal clear, I’m not saying there needs to be an overruling on the part of the CFO – this is absolutely a team effort. I’m saying CFOs can’t afford to simply sign off at the end if they want to ensure the best decisions are being made for the company. The costs of power, space, servers and even labor are rising. If the entirety of a company’s workloads are on expensive hyperscaler infrastructure, the question needs to be asked: Why?
Divide your infrastructure to reap the cost benefits
For companies that need the ability to scale “infinitely”, it’s logical that hyperscalers are the solution for meeting that need. However, every company has static/stable infrastructure that they know will be there year-round. Take e-commerce for example: companies know from their history that they can expect a certain steady level of traffic daily, but when peak shopping times come in Q4 (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas holidays) they will need the ability to scale “infinitely” to meet demands.
This gives companies the opportunity to save costs significantly by moving their stable workloads and persistent infrastructure to a more cost-effective provider; one that still offers high performance with a quality network, while also having the ability to integrate their platform with a hyperscaler to offload that peak traffic. If a company knows what kind of stable infrastructure to expect for the coming year or two, they can select a longer contract term and save a lot of money in the process – without compromising on performance or resiliency.
Take control of the details
Providers like Leaseweb give companies the customization choices of everything from processor speed to storage types, allowing money to be allocated where it’s truly needed. Choosing a provider that offers tailored solutions, at a better cost-performance ratio, gives companies complete control over their infrastructure expenses.
Conclusion
While the energy crisis may be hitting other regions of the world harder than it is in the US, we are still feeling the repercussions. Although we have experienced energy price increases at Leaseweb USA, above the norm, we have chosen not to pass these additional increases (outside of normal indexation) on to our US customers. We have always been proactive about choosing data centers that are energy efficient, providing tremendous value to our customers when it comes to pricing.
The future is unknown, but one thing is clear: it’s time for companies to re-think their infrastructure strategies and look to alternatives if the goal is to thrive this year and beyond.