Got Cloud? Don’t Kill the Goose That Lays the Golden Egg!
In Episode 4 of CloudBrew, Robert Ford warns against cutting cloud costs and advises where to invest.
As the old fable goes, a man owned a goose that laid a golden egg every day. The man sold the eggs and began to get rich. Soon, greed overtook him, and he became impatient with receiving only one golden egg per day. He killed the goose, in hopes of finding multiple eggs in his belly, only to find none.
And just like that, his gold-producing goose was dead.
When applied to business, this story refers to a short-sighted perspective of a valuable resource, or an unprofitable action motivated by a desire for a quick fix.
In Episode 4 of CloudBrew, CoreStack's NextGen Cloud Governance podcast, our Chief Strategy Officer, Robert Ford, shares the importance of not cutting cloud costs when in a budget squeeze. After all, doing so risks compromising your future company health. Instead, he encourages organizations to be bold and take a braver course of action by optimizing spend, investing in cloud services, and cutting down on all low-value activities.
“When I talk about geese and golden eggs, what I'm asking is ‘Why are you killing or cutting the goose that lays the gold, which is cloud?” shares Ford. “I could have asked ‘Why on Earth are you thinking of cutting cloud spend when it's going to be the force that propels you onwards?’ but I went with the goose.”
Navigating Unpredictability with Confidence
So, what should companies do in a volatile marketplace? “I know economic headwinds are fierce and unpredictable, and there's an abundance of caution,” says Ford. “Caution is the smart thing to exhibit at the moment. However, you have to ask yourself the question, ‘Is this the right time to cut back on the gas and put my digital engine in economy mode, or alternatively, shed all that excess weight and put my digital machine in sport mode and leave the competition behind?”
Ford cautions against a knee-jerk reaction that's going to result in you delivering value to your customers slower—slower than before and slower than the competition. “And I say slow enough that the game has already entered the last two minutes and you're scrambling to score. However, CoreStack’s strategy demands you take more affirmative action and stop or slow down other low-value activities. You have to make room. You have to optimize everything to run at peak performance levels and focus on what's most important to the business, which in this digital era is all about delivering value faster—faster than your competition, faster than you did before.”
Fortune Favors the Bold
Ford knows companies will skimp on cloud in a down market; that’s why he suggests getting the edge: “When you're faced with a budget squeeze, don't just cut the cloud and risk your future. Be a bit bolder, be a bit braver. Optimize everything like crazy, invest in the future—which is cloud—and stop other low-value activities. You know where your low-value activities live, and they probably have lived there far too long.”
Golden Advice
Ford sums up his thoughts with this guidance for cloud spend: “Optimize spend, make room, double down on cloud—and make sure that goose laying the golden eggs is adequately fed and cared for. That way, it will produce many more super big golden eggs to secure your future going forward.”
Ford quotes Apple’s Tim Cook to encapsulate his strategy of boldness: “We don't believe you can save your way to prosperity. We think you can invest your way to it.”
