Javan: Welcome back. In this module, we'll cover cloud cost management. So far we've spoken about several Google Cloud products and services and how you can use them to help you transform your business. Transformation, though, doesn't come without some challenges. In fact, one of the common pain points many organizations face, regardless of which cloud provider they use, is managing cloud costs. This includes anything from planning and budgeting for cloud resources to being able to monitor and control their monthly spend and optimizing as needed, to accurately forecasting future costs. For large organizations especially, the transition from predictable capital expenditure for building and maintaining their IT infrastructure to agile operating expenditures using cloud resources requires process and organizational changes. Yesterday's solutions for predicting and controlling costs don't work well in the cloud era. Yes, it's true that cloud technology can provide organizations with the means to make more dynamic decisions and accelerate innovation, but managing cloud costs requires vigilance and real-time monitoring in parallel. In fact, because almost anyone can now access cloud resources on demand, managing IT infrastructure costs no longer sits mainly within the finance team, but instead, involves more people across multiple teams. So you might be the person responsible for IT budgeting, you might be responsible for spinning up cloud resources, or you might be building your business plan for a transformational project using cloud resources. Whatever your role, understanding how using cloud technology affects your business from a cost perspective will help you maximize the business value your organization gains from using the cloud. Let's go over what we'll cover in this module. I'll explain the core challenges organizations face for managing cloud costs and propose a solution through three lenses. Next, I'll discuss how to think about the total cost of ownership when using cloud services, then I'll unpack core Google Cloud Platform cost management concepts, and finally, I'll describe some best practices for effective cloud cost management. Let's get started.
