There’s no question that Asia has been a big beneficiary of the low-cost cloud revolution. But as the region’s economies mature and demand for cloud services grows, that reliance on low-cost providers could end up biting Asia in the long run.
Higher prices or lower quality
That’s because, as demand for cloud services grows in Asia, the region’s low-cost providers will find it increasingly difficult to keep up with the competition. They’ll be forced to either raise prices or lower quality, neither of which is a good option for their customers.
Amazon unfazed
Amazon recently said that they are “unfazed” by the low-cost competition in the region and that they are not interested in competing with them. Peter Moore, managing director for the public sector, APAC and Japan, Amazon Web Services, said to Nikkei Asia that they don’t want to be in a place where customers do not understand the advances offered by mature cloud offerings. Instead, their focus is on helping customers move to the cloud in a way that is right for them and not necessarily the cheapest.
In a recent article, analysts say that one of the biggest mistakes companies make is not having a formal archive process and instead dumping completed projects onto hard drives or into low-cost cloud storage. This, according to them, is bad news for data security, immutability, and accessibility.
Meanwhile, Sidney Peoples of Media Debut lends insight into how businesses can understand the costs of cloud storage.
“The market for cloud data warehouses is large, with new companies emerging all the time and established providers developing new services and updating current packages to stay ahead. Frequent switching of services and costs can lead to frustration and confusion, particularly when providers already offer multiple service packages at various prices. This can also make it difficult for customers to compare similar solutions,” Peoples said.
Peoples added that using benchmarks, such as price per query, can help customers compare similar solutions and make an informed decision about which service to use. Therefore, customers should not simply choose the cheapest option but the one that provides the best value for their specific needs.
Cheaper is not always better
For companies in Asia looking to stay ahead of the curve and governments racing to digitalize, the need for quality cloud services at a reasonable price will only become more pronounced in the years to come. Cheaper is not always better; Asia may find that out the hard way in the long run.
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