Preface A big story in the first quarter of 2023, is that the era of hyper-accelerated cloud migrations, which has been causing unassailable growth for the major cloud computing providers, may be slowing. Last quarter, Amazon (AWS) posted 'the slowest growth in its history' at 27.5%, down from 33% the quarter before. Cloud Growth at Azure, and GCP is slowing too as customers get a dose of cloud 'cost reality' or what we like to call, Price-Shock. As it turns out, cloud deployments are not always cheaper than implementations on-premises, and many client organizations are determining that previous cloud-migrated workloads may not deliver the ...
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ServiceNow, Inc. provides enterprise information technology (IT) management software. The Company designs, develops, and markets a cloud computing platform to help companies manage digital workflows for enterprise operations. ServiceNow was founded in 2004 by Fred Luddy and is headquartered in Santa Clara. Bill McDermott currently serves as the company’s Chairman & CEO. ServiceNow is a cloud-based platform that started out as an expensive Help Desk solution. In recent years, ServiceNow has attempted climb out of IT specific niche into a broader low code provider for workflows ServiceNow now provides a wide range of IT service management ...
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Hey, it's June - and you know what that means; Microsoft's Fiscal Year-end. In late June in the northern hemisphere, we experience the longest days of the year, with the most daylight. Isn't it ironic then that Microsoft's fiscal year-end is also in June, as it seems they would prefer to keep customers in the dark about how they can reduce costs on Microsoft with no diminution of business value. Microsoft's most active month of the year for doing deals and renewals is June, and as a result, it is also the best time of the year to claim disproportionate value in your Microsoft agreements, investments, deployments, and relationships. Clients ...
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Networking giant Cisco offers a range of solutions to client organizations of all sizes, including network infrastructure, security and collaboration solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and cloud-based services. Cisco's fiscal year-end is July, making it one of the best times of the year to negotiate non-standard concessions from your Cisco agreements, investments, and relationships. Clients consider Cisco maintenance compulsory, not realizing that these costs can absolutely be optimized, frequently resulting in reduced costs with no diminution of business value. Here are 5 ways to save money on Cisco that you should consider this ...
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Preface: Thank you for joining us for this 10-part series to discuss the Top 10 Ways You can Save on your Mainframe Costs in 2023. Nearly all Clients are Clamoring for Savings in 2023. This is largely due to (a) rising input costs, (b) softening business forecasts, and (c) continued economic headwinds. This has caused many clients to re-evaluate spending plans and implement new cost-cutting targets. IT is the Number One Cost Savings Category of the Modern IT is typically the highest indirect spend area for modern enterprises and is also the cost category with the highest potential yield (we average about 33% savings on addressable IT spend). ...
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SAP, the German software giant, recently announced a price hike in its software products and services, much to the disappointment of its user base. This comes at a time when businesses are already grappling with rising input costs, slowing sales forecasts, and concerns about continued economic headwinds. As reported by The Register, SAP customers are not happy with this decision as it comes at a time when many are already struggling with their budgets. Many businesses are experiencing financial challenges, and SAP's decision to raise prices will only add to their burden. This move is seen by many as bad form on the part of SAP, and it has ...
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Ahh, May. The month itself is named after Maia, the Greek goddess of Spring - and it's easy to see why. In the emerald month of May, life begins anew as the grass turns green, new leaves come out on the trees, and flowers bloom. It is the season of hope, optimism, and renewal. Oops, did I just say renewal? Oh, that's right, May is also Oracle's fiscal year-end, and the busiest month of the year for your beloved Oracle reps as they scramble to sell new business and process your most recent hostage invoices (otherwise known as your annual maintenance service & support renewals). Instead of enjoying the greening of the great outdoors, many ...
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Preface: Thank you for joining us for this 10-part series to discuss the Top 10 Ways You can Save on your Mainframe Costs in 2023. Nearly all Clients are Clamoring for Savings in 2023. This is largely due to (a) rising input costs, (b) softening business forecasts, and (c) continued economic headwinds. This has caused many clients to re-evaluate spending plans and implement new cost-cutting targets. IT is the Number One Cost Savings Category of the Modern IT is typically the highest indirect spend area for modern enterprises and is also the cost category with the highest potential yield (we average about 33% savings on addressable IT spend). ...
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A significant change to Oracle's Java licensing policy was announced January 23rd 2023. The Java licensing changes are clearly designed to increase revenue for the company rather than provide for a greater or enhanced product. While most well-run businesses seek to increase revenue, with Oracle we must view with a critical eye however, as these types of initiatives typically don’t do much for the customer in the way of added value. In addition to the revenue bump these changes will impact for Oracle, they are clearly also designed to eliminate competition (also not in the customer’s favor). It is important to note that these changes do not ...
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This is part two of an ongoing series we call Debunking Microsoft where we address the ongoing disinformation, half-truths, and mysticism surrounding its own products as it relates to Customer licensing, usage, contracts, terms, pricing, and much more. In part one, we addressed what we frequently hear from clients which is that Microsoft has told them around using their own licenses in a cloud other than their own. Words to the effect of... “You can’t use your existing Microsoft licenses on non-Microsoft clouds such as Amazon or Google.” In part two, we deep dive into the licensing and product use terms that many Microsoft customers get ...
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