Cisco has announced the launch of Cloud-Consumption-as-a-Service, a new software-as-a-service product that discovers and monitors public cloud services used by organisations.
According to the company, the new launch is aimed at helping CIOs manage their shadow IT issues. Recent analysis by Cisco revealed the extent of the shadow IT challenge. The average large enterprise now uses 1,220 individual public cloud services that is around 25 times more than estimated by IT. And the average number of public cloud services has grown 112 percent over the past year, and 67 percent over the past six months.
The company’s study further showed that there are also significant business risks associated with uncontrolled adoption of public cloud services. These range from regulatory compliance and data protection, to business continuity, cost and service performance.
Cisco said this is where Cloud Consumption as a Service comes into play. The primary function of the new service is to discover and continually monitor public cloud use across an organisation. When combined with detailed analytics and benchmarking from Cisco, this insight helps businesses reduce security risks and better understand and manage costs. This helps IT team to partner more effectively with business groups and make educated decision about the right cloud services for the business.
“Organisations are facing an explosion in cloud use as business teams are going around the IT department to use public cloud services that they feel will help their business,” said Rabih Dabboussi, General Manager, Cisco UAE. “This, in turn, is creating a huge challenge for IT leaders as the risks from security and compliance to data protection and business continuity increases. Cisco’s Cloud Consumption as a Service offering gives CIOs better visibility and insight into what services are being used and what they can do to control them. It helps our customers mitigate cloud risks, uncover redundant services to reduce costs, and compare providers and benchmark usage. Ultimately, it helps organisations strategically manage their cloud use and gain insight into their cloud roadmap.” – Rabih Dabboussi, General Manager, Cisco UAE
To help customers understand how cloud governance can be simplified, Cisco is offering a free 30-day trial.
The new Cisco Cloud Consumption as a Service is now available globally via qualified Cisco channel partners. The new service is currently priced at approximately $1 to $2 dollars per employee per month, depending on the size of the business. Interested customers can contact sales-cloudconsumption@cisco.com.
