With cloud billing data piling in from an increasing number of public cloud services, you wouldn't be blamed for finding it difficult to keep track of it all.
How much easier would it be if all your cloud expenses could be validated, normalized, and condensed into one file that your general ledger could recognize?
Not only is this now possible, it's also essential – if you want to keep costs down and run your clouds as efficiently as possible. Here are some key reasons why.
Multi-cloud is the New Norm
86% of businesses are now utilising multiple private and public cloud solutions to aid in their digital transformation efforts, according to a report by Virtustream.
This provides many benefits – like improved security flexibility and potential cost savings – but it also means juggling billing data from a plethora of different companies with an equally different number of payment structures and cost-tracking tools.
With an increasing number of workloads running across many clouds, more and more IT budget is being dedicated to cloud services. With so much money being siphoned into the cloud, the ability to integrate accurate billing data with your general ledger can allow you to better account for assets, liabilities, owners' equity, revenues and expenses, and improve your future usage forecasts.
Native Tools Can't Integrate
Presently, the billing tools supplied as standard by your cloud providers require you to manually input your billing data into your general ledger, or set up complex custom integrations. This is expensive, time-consuming, and if you ever decide to move to a new cloud provider, you'll have to set up these custom integrations all over again. For enterprise-level businesses, this is simply not good enough.
That's why many are turning to cloud management services providers to handle this integration for them. The best of these will be able to consolidate your billing data with your general ledger without you having to lift a finger – no matter what accounting software you currently use.
With cloud billing data growing increasingly complex, general ledger integration has gone from being a handy convenience to a necessity. It saves time that could be better spent analyzing your usage and optimizing your cloud environment for the future.
The Risk of Falling Behind
In the modern-day business climate, where technology is evolving so fast that businesses which fail to adapt risk being left behind, those who don't have immediate access to their financials – including their cloud-related spend – can quickly come unstuck .
However, with automated general ledger integration, business have access to accurate, real-time data which can improve their decision-making process and reduce account errors associated with manual transaction posting. Keeping track of your business's financial health – accurately – can be made easy with general ledger integration.
While some software solutions can help you gain visibility over your cloud costs, most of them can't convert your billing data into a format your general ledger can interpret.
Employing the help of a cloud management services provider is often an easier, smarter way of gaining cloud cost clarity – especially when multi-cloud configurations are in play. But which one is best? For those unsure, our comprehensive e-book provides expert guidance to help you find the right public cloud options for you.
Topics: Cloud Management Services
