Cloud Cruiser Extends Cost Advisor to Windows Azure

Cloud Cruiser is branching out in terms of the public cloud platforms it supports. The cloud services provider, which focuses on cloud financial management applications, is officially extending support to Microsoft (MSFT) Windows Azure, although it has provided some insights since October when the Windows Azure Pack for Windows Server 2012 R2 was launched.

Now, Cloud Cruiser is extending support for its cloud-based financial analysis service across Microsoft’s Cloud OS platform, including System Center 2012 R2, Windows Server with Hyper-V and the Windows Azure Pack.

“Microsoft hybrid cloud strategy provides a complete cloud platform that encompasses on-premises data centers, Windows Azure and a hosting provider’s data center,” said Vibhor Kapoor, director of Windows Azure Product Management at Microsoft, in a prepared statement. “Cloud Cruiser builds on this comprehensive platform, providing clear, actionable financial intelligence across hybrid cloud environments, enabling our customers to gain insights to maximize their cloud investments.”

What Cloud Cruiser provides is a way to do public and private cloud cost comparison to give end customers information they can use when building a hybrid cloud environment.

Cloud Cruiser is already available on Amazon Web Services, and it also supports OpenStack cloud deployments. The company’s sole purpose is in providing financial management for enterprises that are adopting hybrid cloud computing models. According to 451 Research, 68 percent of Microsoft customers claimed in a survey they are planning to adopt hybrid cloud models within the next two years.

“With the explosion of hybrid cloud adoption, enterprises need a solution to optimize for lowest cost,” said William Fellows, founder of 451 Group, in a prepared statement. “Cloud Cruiser has delivered an IT financial management solution that can proactively advise enterprises and hosters where to gain the greatest cost efficiencies across their public, private, and hosted environments, setting a new high watermark for economic modelling in service delivery.”