Four key metrics for verifying cloud efficiency

Following a successful migration, it's important to ensure that the investment made in the cloud delivers the expected results. Therefore, it's necessary to adopt metrics that can evaluate cloud costs and user satisfaction levels when adopting the technology.

Cloud 10 Feb 2024 3 min read By: Skyone

Defining metrics that portray cloud performance is the best way to evaluate the benefits of the cloud in different aspects, beyond just the financial one. Using KPIs makes it possible to build the foundation for future improvements and corrections to the project.

Use the right metrics to evaluate cloud success

There are several types of metrics that can be used to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the cloud; however, it is crucial to choose those that best reflect the strategic information needed to make a concrete assessment of the investments.

It is very common, for example, for companies to choose KPIs based on user needs, and to identify operational or commercial criteria that allow for evaluations that can demonstrate information regarding ROI.

An important tip for defining the best metrics to use is to consider the objectives that led to the cloud investment. Imagine, for example, that the migration occurred due to performance problems with the solutions used in the company; then, it is necessary to evaluate the response times involved with a critical application.

Another important criterion to be used in defining KPIs are the so-called critical quality factors. These will be the indicators that will evaluate the success of the investment.

Let's consider four common types of KPIs for the cloud.

KPIs related to the service

Whether public, private, or hybrid cloud , companies typically start with KPIs that reflect the integrity, quality, and availability of cloud services. These metrics are geared towards services responsible for high cloud availability and problem resolution criteria.

Customer/user satisfaction KPIs

If users are not satisfied with cloud services, then the investments made have been for nothing. To prevent users from seeking other infrastructure options, check metrics such as user satisfaction and services in use to monitor cloud engagement.

KPIs that assess cost

Organizations also implement KPIs to monitor costs. Cloud usage can result in unpredictable and unexpected costs, making critical analysis important to determine if cloud deployment truly benefits the business. Operational and infrastructure costs are good examples of metrics to use.

KPIs related to infrastructure

KPIs related to cloud infrastructure are primarily used for private clouds and include operational details regarding servers, storage, networking, and other elements of the IT infrastructure in the cloud.

While the list of cloud metrics can be extensive, only a few will generally serve as the basis for cloud business decisions. Metrics, as well as quality criteria, need to be carefully evaluated.