Newvem (disclosure: Ofir who works at Newvem is a fellow CloudAve blogger but this is my independent opinion), San Francisco based company offering visibility into an organization’s AWS deployment, Called Cloud Smart Meters, it helps CIOs and IT managers to gain detailed visibility into their AWS costs, risks and assets using their iPads or iPhones. As iOS devices enter enterprise workforce from top to bottom, giving CIOs and IT Managers a tool like this is the right move.
People buy into the cloud cost savings hype and eventually realize that the cost management is a big nightmare. With the lowering of barriers to procurement of IT resources with empowerment of end users, abuse and waste becomes a big headache. In many cases, it even defeats the cost advantage of moving to cloud. In order to rein in on such waste/abuse, IT managers should develop a set of policies that will govern the organizational cloud usage. Both in order to develop these policies and to enforce the policies, IT managers should have visibility into their cloud deployment. Cost management offerings like the one offered by Newvem (other players in the segment include Cloudability, Apptio, Cloud Cruiser, shopforcloud, Cloudrows, Cloudyn, Uptime Cloud, CloudFloor, CloudSplit, etc..) is critical.
As we move from traditional desktops to mobile devices, having a mobile implementation is the next step for these vendors. Newvem has taken the step with their iOS native app. Some of the key features, according to their press release, are:
- Visualization of AWS trending costs, operational risks, and assets
- Rich graphics with top-level and drill down views into AWS cloud usage
- Operational risk reports covering spending, security, utilization, and availability
- Powerful sharing tool for easy team collaboration, course correction, and decision making
- Full iPhone and iPad functionality
Whenever I think about cost management vendors, the following issues comes to my mind
- I expect cost management to be a feature of the bigger cloud management too itself. With Rightscale buying Shopforcloud.com, and possibly integrating inside their cloud management tool in the future, there is a realistic threat for these cost management vendors. Even Tier 3 has integrated cost visibility into their cloud management tool and I don’t see why other service providers will not do the same. At the same time, cost management is a critical component of cloud management and it will be interesting to see the strategy of these vendors in the coming years.
- Newvem is entirely focussed on AWS and I would expect them to go beyond AWS as more and more IaaS providers are propping up. I hope to get their point of view on this issue during the AWS re:invent event.
