The popularity of cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and the Google Cloud Platform has exploded because they enable easy and rapid access to computing services with no upfront costs.
But the problem is, cloud computing services are “always on” unless customers specifically turn them off. Which means customers are paying for computing time they don’t actually use—for example, between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
ParkMyCloud has developed an application which allows business users to automatically schedule “on” or “off” states for their computing services. ParkMyCloud reduces cloud computing costs by 20% or more in just 15 minutes. The company has released its application for general use on Amazon Web Services.
“Our research shows that companies are crying out for simple, standalone tools that help manage the fast-changing IT landscape,” says Jay Chapel, the founder and CEO of ParkMyCloud. “ParkMyCloud can help companies send hundreds of millions of dollars in reduced cloud computing costs straight to their bottom line.” Chapel said.
How ParkMyCloud works
ParkMyCloud is a lightweight app that allows cloud computing customers to pay only for the computing power they’re actually using. It does this by scheduling on/off times (also known as “parking”) for idle cloud computing services. As a result, ParkMyCloud reduces cloud computing costs by 20% or more in just 15 minutes.
Parking savings is based upon the state of each instance you have ingested (either stopped or running), whether each instance has a parking schedule assigned to it, and its estimated price per hour, based upon instance size and the region.
ParkMyCloud conservatively assumes Linux as the operating system, which is the least expensive. If you use a different operating system, your savings may be greater.
Every hour, ParkMyCloud calculates the downtime duty cycle of each instance with a parking schedule attached, keeping a running tally of your parking savings — which can accumulate rather quickly.
When employees are not in the office, they will not need access to certain cloud services, so the app takes away each service’s active state and resumes it once office hours come around the following day. It provides a dashboard for a simple view of all company tasks which users can then use to schedule automatic shutdowns.
ParkMyCloud is SaaS-based, so there’s nothing to download and no installation required. You’re up and running in these three steps:
1. Set up your ParkMyCloud account. (Free 10-Day Trial. No credit card required.)
2. Connect with AWS to discover your cloud computing services.
3. Start “parking” your cloud computing services with scheduled “on/off” times.
Why ParkMyCloud makes sense for your business
Imagine how much money you’d waste if you left all of the lights and appliances on when you were not home. Imagine how much money you’d waste on water if your sprinklers stayed on 24×7. Imagine how much gas you’d burn if you left your car running all night while it’s parked in your driveway.
Hundreds of thousands of cloud computing customers are in the exact same situation—wasting hundreds of millions of dollars paying for idle cloud computing services.
Here is what users say about ParkMyCloud:
1. David Levinger, Senior Director of Information Technology, Paxata.
“Whenever your boss comes over and says – ‘Hey, why are we spending $8,000 a month on EC2?’ you can show him how much you’re saving with parking. This is exactly the type of tool companies need. It’s simple and clean, and it’s an easy way to get cost savings on development resources you aren’t using.”
2. Rob Wyant, Chief Technology Officer, Yapper.
“ParkMyCloud saved my company a significant percentage of our monthly Amazon bill. In less than 15 minutes we were all set up, had identified several unused server instances, and applied parking schedules to our development systems to reduce spend during off hours. As a startup, my cofounder and I appreciate the immediate and obvious savings. The ParkMyCloud team has built a great product!”