Quick Start Guide to Cloud Cost Management: Your Essential Checklist (updated March'25)

[Randy Scrapper]

Are you ready to implement Cloud Cost Management (CCM) and maximize the value of your cloud investments? This guide provides a comprehensive checklist to help you stand up CCM quickly and effectively.

 

Why Focus on Cloud Cost Management?

As organizations increasingly migrate to the cloud, managing costs becomes critical. A robust CCM strategy enables you to:

• Gain Visibility: Track where your cloud budget is being spent.
• Optimize Resources: Identify underutilized resources and eliminate waste.
• Forecast Expenses: Better predict your future cloud costs.
• Drive Accountability: Encourage teams to manage their cloud usage responsibly

 

Cloud Cost Management Implementation Checklist

Implementing Cloud Cost Management (CCM) in ServiceNow is essential for organizations looking to optimize cloud expenses and gain visibility into their spending. Here's a streamlined approach to ensure a successful setup:

1. Setup & Installation

• Install the CCM Plugin: Obtain it from the ServiceNow Store (avoid installing demo data in production).
• Install the CCM Infra Stack Plugin: Required for version 8.1 and above; ensure dependencies are resolved before activation.
• Request Instance Size Evaluation: Open a support case if your monthly cloud spend exceeds a certain threshold.

2. Configuration

• Assign appropriate permissions for AWS, Azure, and GCP following ServiceNow’s guidance.
• Map credential aliases to cloud accounts to enable seamless data access.

3. Data Management

• Schedule and manage jobs for downloading cloud price sheets and billing data.
• Conduct a billing data comparison to ensure accuracy between source data and CCM reports.

4. User Configuration

• Assign appropriate roles to users in the Cloud Services Portal (CSP) based on responsibilities.
• Define account ownership through change templates.

5. Optimization & Control

• Develop a cost analytics strategy, manage budgets, and configure cost-saving policies for resource rightsizing, reservations, and usage control.

6. Final Step

• Perform comprehensive testing to verify CCM’s functionality for cost insights, analytics, and budget tracking.

By following these steps, organizations can efficiently manage cloud costs, improve resource utilization, and gain actionable insights to drive savings.

 

Upcoming Resources: "Ask a Ranger" ITAM Series

To simplify implementation further, watch out for our "Ask a Ranger" ITAM series. These instructional videos will offer practical insights to help you navigate CCM setup seamlessly.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkGSnjw5y2U7VJIvx5t2FjER0vExymCrJ

Conclusion

By following this structured checklist, you'll gain better visibility, control, and optimization of your cloud investments. Stay proactive, utilize data insights, and keep your costs aligned with your business objectives.

Happy managing your cloud costs!