Microsoft has unveiled plans to acquire cloud monitoring and analytics start-up, Cloudyn, in a move designed to bolster customer and partner management capabilities in Microsoft Azure.
Based in Israel, Cloudyn manages and optimises multi-platform hybrid cloud environments, offering visibility and optimisation tools for enterprise customers and managed service providers (MSPs).
The acquisition - for a rumoured price tag of between US$50M to US$70M - will see the tech giant take control of a cloud billing and management solution that differs from industry competitors such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
“As customers grow their cloud usage across many projects, it can be challenging to gain visibility and understand costs for existing projects, to optimise those investments and to project future usage,” Microsoft director of program management Azure Jeremy Winter said.
“It is critical that customers have access to enterprise-grade management capabilities for detailed visibility into their Azure consumption, cost and performance in order to stay within budget and ensure business success.”
From a technology standpoint, Cloudyn’s cloud management, monitoring and optimisation solution supports Azure, AWS, GCP, Openstack and cloud containers, targeting enterprise customers, resellers, integrators, MSPs and cloud solution providers (CSPs).
Founded in 2011, the business has struck up end-user deals with thousands of Fortune 500 organisations in six years, including Ticketmaster, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Conduit.
In partnering with both Microsoft and Google in cloud, the company also has alliances with Westcon Group, Red Hat and Infosys, alongside CloudSigma, Mainstream Technologies and Enimbos.
“This acquisition fits squarely into our commitment to empower customers with the tools they need to govern their cloud adoption and realise the strategic benefits of a global, trusted, intelligent cloud,” Winter added.
“Cloudyn gives enterprise customers tools to identify, measure and analyze consumption, enable accountability and forecast future cloud spending.
“Cloudyn customers have been able to optimise their cloud services usage and costs through automated monitoring, analytics and cost allocation. Cloudyn capabilities will be incorporated into our product portfolio that offers customers the industry’s broadest set of cloud management, security and governance solutions.”
As a Microsoft partner, Cloudyn has supported cost management for Azure and other public clouds, helping customers improve cloud efficiency as a result.
With no word yet on whether competitive cloud environments will continue to be supported by Cloudyn following the acquisition, the move signals Microsoft’s intent to double down on its Azure offerings.
“As cloud adoption continues to increase, CIOs and business leaders are seeking solutions to manage and optimise their cloud investments,” Cloudyn CEO Sharon Wagner added.
“Cloudyn helps them achieve this by providing the tools necessary to continuously monitor, measure and analyse consumption, enable accountability, and forecast future cloud spending.”
As Cloudyn’s stature across the industry grows, locally however, cloud monitoring capabilities can be found through Cloud Ctrl, developed by Brisbane-based start-up SixPivot.
Spanning both Australia and New Zealand markets, Cloud Ctrl offers management, monitoring and analysis of cloud resources, operating across a multi-cloud service management platform.
Specifically, the software tool acts as a brokering service, dashboard and management portal to enable organisations to manage subscriptions and services associated with cloud providers such as AWS, Azure and Google.
