Multi-cloud workload management software, Yellowdog, has launched an Index that simplifies cost and performance analysis of cloud computing technology.
As the cloud fast becomes the dominant source of computing technology for businesses worldwide, making the right choices is key to business performance, and getting it wrong has a real impact to the bottom line. The number of combinations of processor, memory, bandwidth and related options, including geographic reach, are immense. The number of cloud instance types available today already stands at over 25,000 variants and is increasing by hundreds each month.
The YellowDog Index aims to cut through this complexity, providing a clear, orderly view of all the worldwide instances in terms of cost, performance, availability, and carbon impact, allowing them to be analysed and matched to a customer’s specific requirements on a spot to long term basis.
The impact of the YellowDog Index is that, cloud customers are able to instantly find the best source of compute that precisely matches their needs. Using the Index, people can base their purchasing decisions not just on their technical requirements, but also on cost, availability, and, increasingly, the requirement of meeting renewable energy targets.
The Index uses the latest information available from sources such as Greenpeace and the US Energy Information Administration. The technology behind the YellowDog Index is an integral part of the company’s Assura product that automates the decision-making process involved in selecting, provisioning and then using cloud computing resources, all based on the client’s requirements. This ensures the best source of compute is used each time, every time, minimizing costly over specification and resourcing.
Companies actively using the technology span industries such as financial services, meteorology, life sciences, and aerospace. All of whom are increasingly turning to the cloud for high performance, high resilient computing resources, as well as to move their business processes. However, YellowDog believes the Index also has a much broader appeal to all users of cloud compute.
“Our software enables any business to find the best source of computing power. This may be where it’s the cheapest, it has the lowest carbon impact or the highest performance at that moment in time,” said Gareth Williams, CEO of YellowDog. “We’ve created a freely available Index so any business can evaluate and then choose the optimal cloud compute offerings anywhere in the world.”
“Being able to assess the amount of renewable energy used for each cloud, alongside its cost effectiveness and computing power, is becoming increasingly important for some clients,” he added. “This allows any business to navigate the vast, complex world of cloud computing and demonstrate how it meets its corporate sustainability objectives.”
YellowDog already works with cloud partners including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and Verne Global, and so has a deep understanding of the challenges of selecting and using the right cloud infrastructure across the world.
YellowDog’s software was initially used by their cloud-based 3D rendering and animation clients and is now being accessed for a wide range of computationally intensive cloud applications, in many sectors. Post Covid-19, 93% of companies plan to accelerate their cloud deployments, according to a report by market analysts, Global Data.
“At a time when there is immense economic pressure on companies and unprecedented demand to move business processes to the cloud, the Index and Assura help companies make the right purchasing decisions as they navigate the complicated landscape of global cloud infrastructure and advance their plans post Covid-19 and beyond,” said Tom Beese, Chairman of YellowDog.
“In my time at Microsoft, we saw and helped enable the exponential expansion of compute resource across the globe, and I see strong potential for the YellowDog Platform across enterprises in many verticals,” said Reid Downey, a former General Manager for Microsoft and a Non-Executive Director on the Board of YellowDog.
“Cloud computing enables rapid innovation, and YellowDog is a great example of an organization that is using it to revolutionize its industry,” said Deepak Patil, former Vice President of Product Development at Oracle.
The YellowDog Index is available at yellowdog.co/yellowdog-index
