Cloud
Azure, AWS and IBM Cloud, designed so the bill makes sense
Public cloud is computing capacity and platform services rented from a hyperscale provider such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) or IBM Cloud and billed by usage. Storcom helps teams decide which workloads belong there, designs the landing zone, migrates them and sets up cost governance so spending stays predictable.
Last updated
Practice: Cloud and hybrid cloud
- Built for
- IT teams moving workloads to Azure, AWS or IBM Cloud, or trying to rein in a cloud bill that keeps growing
- What you get
- Azure, AWS and IBM Cloud
- Workload-by-workload fit review
- Cost governance from day one
- Design, migration and agreed ongoing support
- Delivered from
- Geneva, Illinois, for Chicagoland and customers across the U.S.
Why do public cloud bills surprise people?
Public cloud makes it easy to start and easy to overspend. Virtual machines get sized for peak and never shrunk, test environments run all weekend, snapshots pile up, and data leaving the cloud carries its own charges. Without an owner and a few guardrails, the bill grows faster than the value.
The opposite mistake is common too: moving a steady, always-on workload that would cost less on dedicated capacity. We look at each workload before it moves, and we compare it against a hosted private cloud as well as against staying put.
Which workloads belong in public cloud?
Good candidates usually share one or more of these traits. Steady, always-on workloads with fixed licensing often fit a hosted private cloud better.
- Demand that rises and falls, such as seasonal or month-end processing
- New applications built on managed platform services such as databases or containers
- Workloads that sit close to Microsoft 365 and Microsoft identity services
- Development and test environments you can switch off when not in use
- Short-lived projects that don’t justify buying hardware
- Recovery environments that only run at full size during a test or an event
Azure, AWS or IBM Cloud?
The right provider follows your workloads, skills and existing contracts. These are the patterns we see most.
| Provider | Often the natural fit when |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure | You run Microsoft 365, Windows Server and SQL Server and want identity and licensing to line up |
| AWS | You are building new applications on managed services, or your developers already work in AWS |
| IBM Cloud | You run IBM workloads such as IBM Power systems, or want to extend an IBM-based environment |
Many organizations use more than one provider. What matters is that each workload has a reason to be where it is and an owner for its cost.
What Storcom does in public cloud
Fit review
We inventory workloads, measure actual utilization and flag which ones fit public cloud, which fit dedicated capacity and which should stay where they are.
Landing zone design
Subscriptions or accounts, networking, identity, security baselines and tagging set up before the first workload moves, so governance isn’t bolted on later.
Migration
Planned waves with testing and rollback, starting with lower-risk workloads. Applications can move as they are and be tuned once they run.
Cost governance
Right-sizing, schedules for non-production, budgets and alerts, reserved capacity where usage is steady, and regular reviews of what changed.
Backup and recovery
Cloud workloads still need backups you control and restores you have tested. We extend your backup and recovery plan to cover them.
Technology we deploy for this
IBM Partner Plus Silver partner for IBM FlashSystem storage: we size, deploy, migrate and support all-flash arrays with built-in ransomware threat detection and Safeguarded Copy snapshots.
Microsoft Azure infrastructure and Microsoft 365, with Storcom managing Azure resources and backing up Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams.
AWS
Amazon Web Services infrastructure for workloads that belong in public cloud, sized, migrated and managed by Storcom.
Frequently asked questions
Does Storcom manage our Azure or AWS environment day to day?
It can, under a scope you choose. Some customers want design and migration only, others want monitoring, patching, cost reviews and 24×7×365 support afterward. The scope and service level are agreed in writing before work starts, so it is clear what Storcom owns and what your team keeps.
Is Azure or AWS cheaper?
Neither is cheaper across the board. Cost depends on the workload, how it’s sized, how long it runs and which licenses you can bring. Storcom prices your actual workloads on each candidate platform, and against a hosted private cloud, before you commit.
Can we bring existing Microsoft licenses to Azure?
Often, yes. Microsoft programs such as Azure Hybrid Benefit let eligible Windows Server and SQL Server licenses reduce Azure costs. Storcom reviews your license position during design so the migration plan uses what you already own.
Do we still need backups if our servers run in public cloud?
Yes. Cloud providers keep their platform available, but protecting your data from deletion, corruption or ransomware is your responsibility. Keep backup copies outside the production account, with at least one immutable copy, and test restores on a schedule.
How long does a public cloud migration take?
It depends on the number of workloads, their dependencies and how much change you want along the way. After design, Storcom gives you a wave plan with dates, so each group of workloads has a clear window, test plan and rollback path.
Related services
- Cloud overviewCompare hosted private cloud, Azure, AWS, IBM Cloud and object storage.
- Hosted private cloudDedicated hosted private cloud for steady, performance-sensitive workloads and teams leaving VMware licensing.
- Cloud securityCloud security and compliance for Azure, AWS and hosted workloads: identity, network, data and logging…
- Object storageS3-compatible object storage for off-site backup copies, archives and cold data, with object lock immutability…
- Microsoft 365 backupMicrosoft 365 backup for Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams.
Start with a discovery call.
Tell us what you run today, what is changing and what worries you. We listen, ask questions and tell you plainly whether and how we can help. No cost, no commitment.