The cloud has changed daily operations with enhanced scalability and efficiency. Yet, managing expanding cloud infrastructure can become complex. That's where cloud management platforms come in!
These tools offer full control over your cloud environment and monitor applications, services, and resources. Thus, it optimizes cloud resources for peak efficiency and success.
Cloud management platforms (CMPs) are sophisticated software solutions that enable organizations to monitor and govern their cloud environments, resources, and services. These versatile solutions are adept at managing multiple dynamic cloud environments, including private, public, multi, or hybrid clouds.
With CMPs, organizations gain insights into various cloud-related functions such as optimization, orchestration, security, monitoring, and cost management. This empowers IT teams, security analysts, and other stakeholders to leverage cloud resources effectively.
In this article, we will explore the top 14 cloud management platforms. But before we do that, let's examine their benefits and key features.
Cloud management platforms (CMPs) offer many benefits for organizations, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and facilitating success. Here's a detailed exploration of the key advantages:
1. Resource Provisioning and Orchestration
CMPs automate the process of provisioning and orchestrating cloud resources, enabling organizations to deploy applications and services rapidly. Users can request and provision resources such as virtual machines, storage, and networking components without manual intervention through self-service portals and automated workflows.
2. Cloud Cost and Resource Optimization
CMPs streamline resource allocation, leveraging automated resource scaling and intelligent allocation techniques to optimize cloud costs and maximize efficiency. By ensuring optimal resource utilization, businesses achieve cost-effectiveness in their cloud operations.
3. Efficient and Simplified Processes
CMPs simplify complex processes by providing a centralized platform for seamless orchestration of IT operations. This centralization leads to streamlined workflows, reducing manual interventions and enhancing operational efficiency across the organization.
4. Enhanced Performance
CMPs optimize the performance of cloud-based applications and services through effective resource management. Automated load balancing and resource allocation techniques improve application responsiveness and overall system performance, enhancing the user experience.
5. Robust Security
Security is a top priority in cloud environments, and CMPs are crucial in ensuring robust protection. By offering features such as encryption, access control, and threat monitoring, CMPs safeguard sensitive data and ensure compliance with industry regulations, bolstering overall security posture.
6. Operational Agility
CMPs empower businesses to respond swiftly to changing demands by enabling automated provisioning and deployment. This operational agility allows organizations to promptly adapt to market dynamics and customer needs, gaining a competitive edge in the industry.
7. Improved User Experience (UX)
CMPs provide a positive user experience by providing self-service portals and streamlined interfaces. Users benefit from simplified access to resources, personalized service catalogs, and efficient management interfaces, resulting in enhanced organizational satisfaction and productivity.
Thus, CMPs provide many advantages that bolster operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, security, agility, and user satisfaction. These attributes make CMPs essential tools for contemporary businesses navigating the complexities of the cloud landscape.
When evaluating your organization's cloud management platforms (CMPs), it's essential to consider several key features to ensure that the chosen platform meets your requirements and objectives. Here's a detailed overview of the key features to look for in a CMP:
A robust CMP should offer self-service capabilities, allowing users to provision and manage cloud resources autonomously without relying on IT support. Self-service features empower users to deploy, scale, and manage resources according to their needs, enhancing agility and reducing dependence on manual intervention.
Service catalogs provide a centralized repository of cloud services available within the organization. Look for a CMP that offers a comprehensive service catalog with a wide range of predefined services, templates, and blueprints. The service catalog should be customizable to accommodate the specific requirements and preferences of different user groups within the organization.
Effective resource management capabilities are critical for optimizing cloud utilization and controlling costs. The CMP should provide visibility into cloud resources, including virtual machines, storage, networking components, and applications. Features such as resource discovery, tagging, provisioning, de-provisioning, and orchestration help organizations efficiently manage and allocate cloud resources.
Governance features ensure cloud services adhere to organizational policies, regulatory requirements, and industry standards. Look for a CMP that offers policy-based controls, role-based access control (RBAC), and automated compliance checks. The platform should support auditing, logging, and reporting capabilities to track and enforce compliance across the cloud environment.
Cost management is a critical consideration for organizations using cloud services. A comprehensive CMP should provide tools for tracking, analyzing, and optimizing cloud spending. Look for features such as cost allocation, budgeting, forecasting, chargeback/showback reporting, and optimization recommendations. Real-time cost visibility and granular cost analytics help organizations make informed decisions and optimize their cloud investments.
Security is paramount in cloud environments, and the CMP should offer robust security features to protect sensitive data and resources. Look for capabilities such as encryption, key management, identity and access management (IAM), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and threat detection. Integration with identity providers and security solutions helps organizations enforce security policies and mitigate risks effectively.
Seamless integration with existing IT systems, tools, and third-party services is essential for maximizing the value of the CMP. The platform should support standard protocols and APIs for integration with on-premises systems, cloud services, and external applications. Look for pre-built integrations, connectors, and automation capabilities to streamline workflows and enable interoperability across the IT ecosystem.
Scalability and performance are crucial factors, especially for organizations with dynamic workloads and growing cloud footprints. The CMP should be able to scale seamlessly to accommodate changing demands and handle large-scale deployments effectively. Look for features such as auto-scaling, load balancing, and performance monitoring to ensure optimal performance and reliability.
A user-friendly interface and intuitive workflows are essential for driving user adoption and productivity. Look for a CMP that offers a modern, intuitive user interface with customizable dashboards, role-based access controls, and self-service portals. Features such as guided wizards, contextual help, and documentation can enhance the user experience and reduce the learning curve for users.
Finally, the level of support and service guarantees should be consideredthe CMP vendor provides. Look for vendors that offer comprehensive support services, including technical support, training, documentation, and community forums. Evaluate the vendor's SLAs for uptime, performance, and response times to ensure that your organization receives the necessary support and assistance when needed.
To sum up, a cloud management platform is crucial in helping organizations effectively manage and optimize their cloud resources and services. By carefully evaluating key features such as self-service capabilities, service catalogs, resource management, governance, financial management, security, integration, scalability, user experience, and support, organizations can select a CMP that aligns with their business objectives and enables them to succeed in the cloud.
Before delving into the comprehensive list of the top 15 cloud management platforms, let's introduce ourselves and what we do at Zluri.
Zluri offers a robust SaaS management platform that simplifies SaaS management for IT teams. It provides comprehensive visibility into your organization's SaaS ecosystem, allowing IT admins to effortlessly discover, track, and monitor SaaS applications in the cloud. With Zluri, users can conveniently access all subscriptions and licenses from a single interface, eliminating redundant apps and optimizing resource allocation.
The platform furnishes granular data on SaaS usage, user activity, and subscription renewals, enabling users to optimize their SaaS stack for improved efficiency and reduced costs. Zluri's usage monitoring feature empowers organizations to identify underutilized applications and streamline licensing expenses.
In addition to cost optimization, Zluri prioritizes security and compliance by offering insights into each SaaS application's risk levels and threat assessments. This enables organizations to mitigate potential security vulnerabilities and maintain compliance standards, easily preparing them for audits.
Furthermore, its license management feature provides centralized monitoring of app licenses, user roles, and associated costs, ensuring transparency and control over software expenditures. The platform facilitates the identification of unused licenses and abandoned applications, allowing for downsizing or reallocation as needed.
Zluri also streamlines SaaS operations by automating provisioning, deprovisioning, and approval requests, freeing IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives. With its comprehensive suite of features, Zluri is an indispensable tool for IT teams seeking to enhance their SaaS management processes and maximize operational efficiency.
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Now lets explore our list of top cloud management platforms
Below are the top 14 cloud management platforms empowering IT teams to streamline cloud operations, bolster security, and optimize costs.
nOps is an advanced cloud management platform driven by artificial intelligence. It is specifically tailored for AWS users and aims to reduce costs by up to 50% with minimal effort. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, nOps revolutionizes cloud cost optimization and management.
The platform offers a suite of solutions designed to provide a holistic view of your AWS bill, including cost allocation, chargebacks, showbacks, and tagging functionalities. This allows users to understand and manage expenses effectively.
IBM Cloud Orchestrator is a comprehensive cloud management platform designed to facilitate efficient cloud infrastructure management. Cloud Orchestrator offers end-to-end service deployment across infrastructure and platform layers, enabling users to swiftly and securely monitor, manage, and back up their cloud environments.
Cloud Orchestrator seamlessly integrates with customer data center policies, processes, and infrastructures across various IT domains. Additionally, it provides a suite of tools for defining and implementing business rules and IT policies, facilitating the orchestration of automated and manual tasks across complex cloud environments.
ServiceNow's cloud management platform is a cloud-based solution engineered to equip IT teams with the tools to effectively oversee and enhance their cloud resources. Streamlining the management of hybrid cloud services, regulating cloud expenditures, and ensuring adherence to compliance standards bolsters IT operations and mitigates business risks. It drives cost-efficiency with functionalities to identify and monitor cloud services, provision resources, and optimize utilization. Its governance and compliance capabilities also streamline policy enforcement and regulatory alignment throughout the cloud infrastructure.
Apptio Cloudability is cloud management software for IT leaders looking to optimize their cloud resources. The tool ensures you use your cloud services efficiently and effectively while controlling costs. Further, it helps allocate all the costs associated with using cloud services, such as container fees and support charges. It ensures the organization's full backup of cloud charges.
Apptio's cloud ability can also help reduce operating expenses and future investments by using rightsizing capabilities across various cloud services. It allows IT leaders to take ownership of cloud spending and connect it to the business value, making it easier to make strategic decisions.
BMC cloud management suite is a solution for managing and optimizing cloud environments. It provides a range of features and tools that help IT teams manage their cloud resources, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.
The software offers a unified dashboard for managing multiple cloud platforms, including public, private, and hybrid clouds. It provides visibility into cloud usage and costs, allowing IT teams to optimize their cloud resources and reduce wastage.
Further, it offers automation capabilities for provisioning and managing cloud resources, helping to streamline cloud operations and improve efficiency. It provides self-service portals for end-users to request and manage cloud resources, freeing up IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.
Zesty Cloud Management is a comprehensive platform designed to streamline and optimize cloud resources for businesses. It empowers organizations to manage their cloud infrastructure efficiently, ensuring cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency. With Zesty Cloud Management, users gain full control over their cloud environments, from provisioning resources to monitoring performance and optimizing usage.
The platform offers a range of features, including automated resource allocation, robust security measures, and seamless integration with various cloud providers. Zesty Cloud Management is a valuable tool for businesses seeking to maximize the benefits of cloud computing while minimizing costs and complexities.
Densify is a cloud management software that uses machine learning and predictive analytics to help IT leaders optimize their cloud resources. With Densify, organizations can significantly improve their Kubernetes clusters' performance by doubling the number of functioning pods and enhancing elastic scaling by up to 30%.
Densify reduces operational risk and enhances performance reliability by ensuring optimal resource allocation, including memory and CPU. The platform empowers users to release stranded capacity, maximize VM density, and mitigate operational risks across both cloud and on-premises VMware infrastructure.
Offering a holistic view of cloud instance resources, utilization, costs, and performance across multiple providers, Densify enables informed decision-making and cost optimization. With automated responses to changes in application performance requirements, Densify delivers cost savings and optimal resource configurations for every cloud workload.
Flexera is a powerful cloud management platform that enables IT leaders to gain a holistic view of their entire cloud estate and make informed, data-driven decisions. It provides complete visibility into all aspects of an organization's cloud transformation strategy, including opportunities for cost-saving and potential risks.
It enables IT leaders to implement processes and workflows across their entire cloud environment, streamlining operations and reducing manual effort.
Additionally, Flexera One provides automated recommendations that help IT leaders identify non-optimized resources in an ongoing manner, ensuring optimal resource utilization and cost efficiency.
Snow Commander is a cloud management software that helps IT Admins manage and optimize their cloud resources from a single platform. With the Snow Cloud Cost Platform, teams can allocate costs to specific organizational units and review customized reports, forecasts, and budgets for cloud spending. This provides in-depth visibility into multi-cloud usage and spending, enabling organizations to make informed decisions and optimize their cloud resources.
Azure Arc is a cloud management software that simplifies multi-cloud complexities. It offers centralized management of a wide range of resources, including Kubernetes, Azure services, and more.
With Azure Arc, IT Admin can easily meet cloud governance and compliance requirements. It also enables the deployment of Azure services and extends Azure management to any infrastructure, making it an ideal solution for businesses of all sizes and industries.
Nutanix Cloud Manager is a comprehensive solution that provides IT Admin with cloud operations management, security compliance, and visibility into cloud costs. It optimizes capacity, proactively detects performance anomalies, and automates operational tasks, enabling IT Admin to streamline application management, deployment, and scaling with self-service and centralized role-based IT governance.
Nutanix Cloud Manager helps IT Admin improve productivity and efficiency by automating operational tasks. It also automatically generates cloud consumption reports and defines chargeback policies to allocate unattended spending to a cost center.
Additionally, it sets up budget alerts to help IT leaders keep their costs under control, ensuring that they can optimize their cloud resources and maximize their ROI.
CloudBolt Software is a comprehensive cloud management platform that seamlessly integrates on-premises resources and public clouds through an intuitive interface. It simplifies cloud management across diverse technologies and locations, optimizing workload placement and facilitating efficient resource utilization. With support for on-premises virtualization, private cloud, and various public and hybrid configurations, CloudBolt enables easy import, syncing, and management of both legacy and new cloud environments.
Further, the platform offers an intuitive end-user experience with features such as out-of-band console access, SSH access, and remote script execution, enhancing user productivity and satisfaction.
CloudCheckr is a cloud management platform that provides end-to-end solutions for organizations utilizing cloud infrastructure. It offers visibility and intelligence to help businesses lower costs, maintain security and compliance, and optimize cloud resources effectively. With a focus on AWS Spot instances, CloudCheckr offers specialized products such as Spot Eco, Spot Ocean, Spot Elastigroup, and Spot Portfolio for various cloud optimization needs.
CloudCheckr's comprehensive feature set empowers organizations to manage their cloud infrastructure effectively, achieve cost savings, and maintain security and compliance across their cloud environments.
Morpheus Data is an advanced platform that combines infrastructure provisioning, configuration management, and application deployment to enhance enterprise agility and control. It caters to multi-cloud and hybrid environments, providing self-service provisioning, automated workflows, and role-based access control.
Morpheus is known for its intuitive interface, ease of use, and ability to effectively manage a wide range of IT assets. Morpheus Data empowers organizations to achieve greater agility, control, and efficiency in managing their infrastructure across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
In conclusion, selecting the optimal Cloud Management Platform entails carefully considering several key factors. First, evaluate the platform's feature set to ensure it aligns with your organization's requirements, encompassing essential functions such as monitoring, cost optimization, and security. Additionally, prioritize ease of use by assessing the platform's compatibility with your existing tools and evaluating the intuitiveness of its user interface.
Cost is another crucial aspect to weigh, including the pricing model and any additional fees for premium features, to ensure it fits within your budget constraints. Lastly, examine the platform's credibility through reviews, testimonials, case studies, and certifications to gauge its track record of success and reliability.
By meticulously evaluating these factors, you can confidently choose the best Cloud Management Platform to meet your organization's needs and propel your cloud operations to new heights of efficiency and effectiveness.
Cloud management platforms are used by various stakeholders within organizations, including IT administrators, cloud architects, DevOps engineers, and business leaders. These platforms cater to the needs of organizations of all sizes and across diverse industries.
To buy a cloud management platform, start by assessing your organization's specific requirements, researching vendors, requesting demos and trials, evaluating pricing models, considering integration, assessing support and services, and making an informed decision based on your evaluations.
Implementing cloud management platforms can pose challenges such as complexity in managing diverse cloud environments, skill gaps in utilizing the platforms effectively, resistance to change, security and compliance concerns, and managing and optimizing cloud costs.
Cloud management platforms improve operational efficiency by automating routine tasks, optimizing resource allocation, providing real-time visibility into cloud usage and performance, streamlining workflows, and facilitating collaboration among teams.
Cloud management platforms typically include security features such as encryption, access control, identity and access management, threat monitoring, compliance reporting, and integration with security tools to ensure the security and compliance of cloud environments.
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