As cloud usage continues its meteoric rise, fueled further by advances like generative artificial intelligence, the complexity and cost of cloud management is skyrocketing. Infrastructure and architecture managers need better ways to optimize cloud spending that don’t require manual analysis of endless items across disconnected consoles.
Tangoe aims to solve this problem through exclusive patented capabilities that apply AI and automation to streamline the entire FinOps process. With 70 patents and counting, they are constant innovators in using technology to simplify technology management.
Classifying and optimizing data in the cloud
At the core of Tangoe’s approach are patented methods for ingesting, normalizing and classifying multi-cloud usage data, extracting key details, categories and cost drivers. Their artificial intelligence models then analyze this structured data to find opportunities for optimization and predict future workload needs.
As Chris Ortbals, Tangoe’s CPO, explains, “When application performance in the cloud is critical, Tangoe has a patented tool that shows you which IaaS provider will give you the best bang for your buck based on your usage today and tomorrow. This is an unmatched advantage.”
Such capabilities reduce the burden on architects and engineers when choosing the right cloud offerings. AI handles continuous analysis so developers can focus on building.
Automating FinOps actions
But recommendations alone do not simplify FinOps if acting on them still requires extensive manual processes. And this is where Tangoe says its solutions stand out—their automation engine can trigger optimized provisioning, right-sizing, reservations, and other actions via API.
“With the click of an approval button, automated response features change IaaS configurations, so clients can quickly turn identified opportunities into real dollars back into the IT budget,” explains Ortbals. “This is where speed to savings becomes a very tangible benefit.”
Removing manual tasks accelerates FinOps cycles, so optimizations happen continuously, not just during quarterly reviews. Developers can rely on resources that match the workload.
Built for IT and Finance
What also differentiates Tangoe is supporting the unique needs of technology and finance leaders in one single platform. Features like customizable reports, allocation rules, discount SKU tracking, and invoice processing simplify collaboration.
As Ortbals says, “Many competing platforms offer data analytics and savings recommendations, but lack the necessary financial management tools like cost allocation, returns and invoice processing, which can be a nightmare with IaaS services — hundreds and thousands of line items for sorting.”
With built-in integrations between AWS, Azure, GCP and other major providers, Tangoe consolidates all cloud usage and billing data into a single source of truth, eliminating the need for manual reconciliation across portals.
Powerful data management under the hood
Supporting Tangoe’s AI-enabled FinOps solutions is a robust cloud-native data management architecture designed to handle massive amounts of financial and usage data from a variety of technologies.
“Tangoe is built on a scalable microservices framework optimized for ingesting, processing and analyzing large, streaming data sets in real-time,” explains Ortbals. “So we can discover opportunities for optimization and quickly initiate actions.”
The platform provides a range of integrated data services, including storage, backup, management and analytics. Advanced security protocols such as encryption and access control ensure data integrity and compliance.
For engineers managing multiple cloud data pipelines, Tangoe consolidates everything into a single, managed data lake. Open APIs and data integration tools provide the flexibility to connect new sources.
“With pre-built connectors for most major cloud platforms and on-premises data sources, setup is easy. And for legacy systems, we offer migration utilities to quickly move that data into Tangoe for better management,” says Ortbals.
Aggregated data supports increasing the value organizations derive from AI applications. With its identity-centric design, Tangoe aims to be the engine that helps drive that AI potential.
Innovations in different categories
Even with 70 granted patents, Tangoe sees a lot of remaining challenges to solve around optimal cloud and technology management. Expanding into hybrid cloud optimization, SaaS management, and improving AI explainability and ease of use are top priorities in their plan.
They also aim to simplify the adoption of FinOps among organizations. Tangoe shares its patented inventions with clients during a beta testing cycle and offers bundled SaaS solutions that require no infrastructure or integration work.
Ortbals wants companies to see Tangoe as a long-term partner in navigating the complexities of the cloud, not just a software vendor. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for DevOps teams to stay on top of all the available SaaS applications, IaaS discounts and purchase plans. Tangoe uses AI to determine the best pricing model for cloud resources — we’re here to help you make smarter purchasing decisions.”
By continuing to expand its patent and AI-powered FinOps portfolio, Tangoe aims to automate the busy work that holds back developers, engineers, architects and CFOs from unlocking the full business value of the cloud.