> So we decided to consolidate all the costs spent for this data center, divide them by the number of servers, and compare them to the cost of a similar install

> So we decided to consolidate all the costs spent for this data center, divide them by the number of servers, and compare them to the cost of a similar installation in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud (we use this as the leading IaaS example). so compare them to buying AWS VMs you don’t need? one of the main attractions of the cloud is the fact that you don’t have to pay for what you don’t use. Elasticity. Every time I see one of these is: I bought 100 servers (which i use 40 of), I would’ve saved money if I was renting 100 servers of AWS. Yeah … no shit. If you were renting only 40, and had the ability to go down as usage decreases, there would be savings, mind you there are such things as, RIs, savings plans, etc, etc. meh.