The IT focus on cost-cutting is not new. But managing your monthly cloud bill is different from trimming operating costs and wringing efficiencies from on-premises purchased hardware.

Unlike buying infrastructure for your data center, which includes a one-time outlay to a hardware vendor, buying cloud services means that someone cuts a check to each cloud vendor every month.

The pay-per-use cloud service scenario has advantages, but also creates complications. Each instance, storage, and network use may get lost in a bill that includes literally hundreds of line items. Accounts payable may write one check each month to your cloud vendor, but linking each line item back to the group that is paying for it can be tricky. It is easy to overprovision resources and end up paying for resources that don