Nerdio VP on Optimizing Cloud, Providing Best Value to Clients

Optimizing the cost and usage of cloud infrastructure is a growing service offering and, in some cases, an expectation the channel will face in 2025 and beyond. While cloud spending rose significantly immediately before and during the COVID-19 pandemic’s peak years, many enterprises are now re-evaluating their consumption in light of economic forecasts and budgeting needs.

Channel Insider spoke with Will Ominsky, vice president of sales, MSP at Nerdio to learn more about how the vendor supports MSPs and their end user customers.

Optimization not a new concept, but definitely a growing trend

“When we started working with MSPs and enterprises over five years ago, the discussions around cost were quite different from today, often due to the misconception that ‘the cloud’ was a cheaper alternative to traditional hardware,” Ominsky said. “Back then, buyers would often experience sticker shock when receiving quotes for hosting their environments.”

Ominsky pointed to the onset of remote working at a large scale during COVID-19-related closures as the shifting point for many businesses in migrating to cloud infrastructure.

“However, the landscape shifted dramatically in March 2020, when COVID-19 lockdowns forced businesses to adopt remote work solutions. Cost became less of a focus as organizations saw immediate value in the cloud’s scalability, remote work enablement, pay-as-you-go models, and built-in global redundancies,” Ominksy continued.

Cost might have been less of a focus during the peak pandemic years, but for many organizations, that time has passed. Further, organizations who jumped on cloud at any cost are now faced with issues ranging from poor integrations and sprawling tech debt to overconsumption and improper billing.

“At Nerdio, we see it every day: customers overspending, underperforming solutions, and even businesses that have dismissed cloud computing as ‘too expensive,’” Ominsky said.

Trust should always remain at the forefront of client communication

Cost issues also pose a potential pain point for solution providers who need to have difficult conversations with their clients about where their technology is falling short. Ominsky sees this as an opportunity for channel partners to prove their value through trust and honesty.

“The most successful MSPs offer ongoing cost optimization evaluations as a core part of their service. Every business has unique infrastructure needs that evolve over time, and with the cloud industry moving at such a fast pace, MSPs have a unique opportunity to elevate themselves by ensuring clients are not wasting money and are getting the best possible performance.”

Nerdio product line delivers technical capacity

While MSPs and other providers are focused on having important conversations, there are also tools and solutions to consider in helping customers achieve optimal performance. Nerdio has long supported MSPs and enterprises in assessing their Microsoft Azure infrastructure developments.

“Our technology is designed to help IT professionals strike the perfect balance between minimizing costs and maximizing performance. Nerdio Manager, for instance, intelligently powers down or destroys resources when they aren’t needed and scales up resources when demand increases,” Ominsky said.

Whether channel organizations are already initiating conversations with their customers or just beginning to approach the concept of automation, there is an emerging market focused on FinOps and cloud cost. Vendors like Nerdio exist within a wider ecosystem of channel partners and enterprises all getting their arms around the cloud.

“While you may achieve some success independently, you’ll be much more successful working with an experienced partner who has both the tools and the expertise to ensure you’re maximizing your investment. Partnering with experts can help you avoid costly mistakes and get the most out of your cloud journey from the start,” Ominsky said when asked what advice he and his team offer to MSPs utilizing Nerdio.

Cloud optimization doesn’t mean cloud adoption is slowing down. Read our guide to AWS, Azure and Google Cloud to learn more about the cloud providers and their benefits in 2025.