This cloud cost management case study explores how WAMS, Inc., a managed IT and cloud services provider, optimized Azure costs with Mavvrik.
WAMS, Inc., a leading managed IT and Cloud Services Solution Provider with a specialization in the legal vertical, faced certain challenges in managing and optimizing cloud costs for their clients. By implementing Mavvrik’s platform, WAMS, Inc. improved their cost management processes, and enhanced its operational efficiency.
The Challenge
Before implementing Mavvrik, WAMS, Inc. faced several challenges in managing their Azure cloud services:
- Inaccurate Cost Forecasting: Microsoft’s native tools failed to provide accurate forecasts, leading to unexpected cost overruns and client billing issues.
- Lack of Visibility: Identifying the causes of cost increases was difficult, making it challenging to avoid surprises in client costs.
- Inconsistent Reporting: Discrepancies between Microsoft’s cost dashboard and the monthly reconciliation file created cost management issues.
- Time-Consuming Auditing: The monthly audit process to compare customer costs against charges was manual and time intensive, taking up to 20 hours per month.
- Resource Management: Grouping all resources together made it difficult to attribute costs to specific services or clients.
The Solution
WAMS, Inc. turned to Mavvrik to unify infrastructure visibility and bring greater control to client spend.
- Unified Cost Dashboard: Replaced Microsoft’s native tools with a single pane of glass to manage multiple client environments, enabling quick comparisons and detailed breakdowns.
- Budgeting Tool: Enables WAMS, Inc. to set and track budgets against contracted cloud spend for each client.
- Custom Reports: Tailored to WAMS, Inc.’s specific needs, including cost grouping by tags and detailed supplementary reports.
- Alerting System: Daily reports on new resource provisioning help quickly flag unusual activities.
The Mavvrik team partnered with WAMS over a 6-week period to configure the platform to their unique requirements. This included: building custom reports aligned to WAMS’ billing structure; consolidating all client costs into one unified view; establishing client-specific tagging conventions; integrating at the partner level within Microsoft Partner Center; and training WAMS staff on the new platform.
The Impact
Quantitative Outcomes
- Time Savings: Monthly audit process reduced from 20 hours to 5-6 hours, saving approximately 15 hours per month.
- Improved Cost Accuracy: Better alignment between forecasted costs and actual expenses, reducing financial discrepancies.
- Enhanced Profitability: Easier identification of underpriced services and unaccounted resources, leading to more accurate client billing.
Qualitative Outcomes
- Streamlined Operations: The unified dashboard and custom reports significantly simplified cloud cost management across multiple client environments.
- Improved Decision Making: Better visibility into costs enabled WAMS, Inc. to make informed decisions about resource allocation and pricing strategies.
- Enhanced Client Trust: The potential to offer clients direct access to their cost data in the future will further strengthen client relationships and transparency.
- Flexible Pricing Model: Mavvrik enables WAMS, Inc. to move towards a more dynamic, usage-based billing model.
Strategic Outcomes
- Resource Organization: Mavvrik’s insights led WAMS, Inc. to reorganize their Azure resources, grouping them by cost categories for better management and visibility.
- Future-Ready Services: The platform’s capabilities are there to allow WAMS, Inc. to potentially offer direct client access to cost data and implement dynamic, usage-based billing in the future.
- Competitive Edge: Mavvrik’s superior features and customization capabilities give WAMS, Inc. an advantage over competitors that are using less flexible platforms.
Looking Ahead
By implementing Mavvrik, WAMS, Inc. has significantly improved its cloud cost management processes, enhanced operational efficiency, and positioned itself for future growth. The platform’s flexibility and the Mavvrik team’s willingness to customize solutions have not only addressed WAMS, Inc.’s immediate challenges but also opened up new possibilities for service offerings and client engagement.
As WAMS, Inc. continues to leverage Mavvrik’s capabilities, they are well positioned to enhance their competitive edge in the managed services market, particularly for law firms and other professional services clients requiring precise and transparent cloud cost management. The partnership between WAMS, Inc. and Mavvrik showcases how innovative FinOps solutions can transform business operations and create new opportunities for growth in the rapidly evolving cloud services landscape.