Businesses of all sizes use cloud platforms like SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) each and every day. Many of these companies take advantage of managed service providers (MSPs) to monitor, maintain, and handle the day-to-day operation of these platforms, as well.
However, many MSPs operate with a frustrating "black box" approach, leaving companies in the dark about their cloud costs and resource usage until the bill arrives. Protera's CloudVantage changes that narrative by bringing unmatched transparency to cloud management.
With CloudVantage, organizations gain real-time insights into their technology stack, including their BTP usage and costs, before the invoice lands. This proactive visibility helps businesses optimize spending, fine-tune resources, and eliminate budget surprises.
Gartner estimates that public cloud spending will pass $720 billion in 2025, so saving money whenever possible should be a priority. This article will explore how CloudVantage enhances BTP transparency and gives businesses greater control over their cloud operations.
CloudVantage is a transparency-driven cloud management platform that gives businesses full visibility into their managed services. Unlike traditional MSPs with a "black box" approach, where costs and resource usage are hidden until the invoice hits your desk, CloudVantage provides real-time insights into cloud infrastructure, public cloud environments, hypervisors, FinOps (financial operations), and event management.
CloudVantage eliminates the guesswork to help businesses track and optimize their cloud spending before unexpected costs accumulate. It consolidates critical operational data into an intuitive, user-friendly interface, making even complex enterprise architectures easy to understand.
With user-friendly dashboards and actionable insights, businesses can view their cloud resource usage, how much they are spending, and where they can become more efficient.
Whether managing SAP Business Technology Platform or broader cloud environments, CloudVantage allows organizations to take control of their cloud operations with confidence, precision, and cost efficiency.
IT teams will be happy to hear that CloudVantage comes at no additional cost to Protera clients. Unlike many third-party platforms that charge separate licensing fees for access to reporting tools or analytics, CloudVantage is included with our managed services. Clients won't encounter any hidden charges or surprise fees; they will just have full access to transparency and control of the business needs.
That's possible because Protera developed CloudVantage entirely in-house. We control the licensing model and extend its capabilities to clients without passing along extra costs.
This cost-free access reinforces Protera's mission to provide clear, value-driven managed services.
Many larger MSPs use a "black box" approach, creating barriers between clients and their own cloud service data. Businesses often face frustrating challenges such as multiple support layers, long wait times for answers, and difficulty accessing metrics.
Instead of real-time transparency, companies rely on delayed reports and invoices, making cost management and compliance audits difficult.
For example, a new Protera client is a manufacturing company that previously worked with a traditional MSP. During an internal audit, they struggled to obtain accurate cloud cost and usage reports from their previous MSP, delaying compliance checks and forcing them to scramble to track down documentation.
When they switched to CloudVantage, they instantly gained access to a centralized dashboard displaying real-time financials, security logs, and system performance. Instead of chasing support teams, they could generate on-demand compliance reports within minutes.
CloudVantage removes roadblocks and shifts the power back to businesses. The platform offers complete visibility so clients can monitor their cloud environments, manage costs, and eliminate surprises.
Protera is a true alternative to the "black box" model of traditional MSPs and a breath of fresh air for companies looking to take a more hands-on approach to cloud management.
One of the biggest frustrations with larger MSPs is their slow response to customer needs. Feature requests often get lost in a maze of bureaucracy, taking months or longer to be addressed.
Protera takes a different approach. With a client-first mindset and an agile-driven development model, we actively listen to feedback and implement changes rapidly through iterative DevOps cycles.
Unlike massive cloud providers prioritizing large-scale updates over individual customer needs, Protera's CloudVantage evolves based on user input. Because of our nimble development cycle, Protera can roll out meaningful updates quickly, improving the platform with frequent, targeted enhancements.
For a simple example, recently, a client asked about an export button for a financial report within CloudVantage to streamline their audit process. Rather than adding it to a long backlog, our team acted. The feature was live within a week, allowing the client to generate and share their reports.
This responsiveness isn't just a bonus; it's what makes CloudVantage different. Protera is small enough to listen, small enough to act, and committed to making cloud transparency work for our clients.
Unexpected billing surprises from providers are a significant cloud cost management issue. Many businesses struggle with unpredictable expenses, receiving invoices far higher than anticipated due to hidden costs, inefficient resource usage, or unexpected consumption spikes.
Financial planning becomes difficult without complete visibility into cloud spending, leading to wasted budget and reactive cost control.
CloudVantage eliminates this uncertainty by providing a centralized, real-time view of multi-cloud costs across all environments. Instead of waiting for a monthly invoice, businesses can monitor usage trends, projected costs, and spending breakdowns real-time.
This level of transparency helps IT and finance teams make proactive decisions, reduce unnecessary expenses, and optimize cloud investments.
Beyond just visibility, Protera's dedicated FinOps team works directly with clients to maximize cloud efficiency. We use savings plans, reserved instances, and workload right-sizing to help businesses lower costs without sacrificing performance. Whether it involves identifying underutilized resources or adjusting cloud commitments, CloudVantage keeps companies in control of their cloud budgets.
With CloudVantage and Protera's FinOps expertise, businesses can transform cloud spending from a reactive challenge into a strategic advantage, improving financial outcomes in the process.
Managing SAP BTP expenses can be challenging, especially when costs accumulate across multiple services and environments. CloudVantage's FinOps module eliminates this uncertainty by offering visibility into BTP costs, just as it does for public cloud hypervisor costs (AWS, Azure, GCP).
With CloudVantage, users can log in anytime and see an aggregated view of their BTP usage and spending across all connected landscapes.
This feature means IT teams no longer have to wait for an end-of-month invoice to understand their expenses. Instead, they can track costs dynamically as they consume the services, making cloud financial management more predictable and transparent.
Traditional cloud billing often results in unexpectedly high costs, leaving businesses scrambling to adjust after the fact. CloudVantage flips the script by allowing for proactive cost management. Users can fine-tune their BTP spending in real time, adjusting resource consumption as necessary to stay within budget.
CloudVantage helps organizations avoid financial surprises and make smarter decisions about their BTP services by offering instant access to cost data.
Traditional support ticket portals can be frustrating for IT teams. In MSP environments, change requests and approvals are buried in long email chains, requiring back-and-forth communication that slows down operations. IT teams often lack visibility into system changes, making audits and compliance checks painful.
CloudVantage changes this dynamic by going beyond a simple ticketing system. It provides a fully transparent, audit-friendly tracking system for change orders, approvals, and infrastructure updates.
Instead of submitting a ticket and waiting for status updates, IT teams can log in and instantly see the history of requested changes, who approved them, and when they were implemented in one place.
IT directors managing compliance audits such as SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) or ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certifications love this technology. They can quickly generate reports documenting every system change, approval, and policy update instead of digging through months of emails.
CloudVantage eliminates manual tracking so IT teams can manage operations and remain compliant.
CloudVantage is transforming cloud management by providing unparalleled visibility into your IT landscape, eliminating the frustrations of the traditional "black box" approach. With real-time cost insights, streamlined audit tracking, and proactive financial management, businesses can make informed decisions without surprises.
Unlike traditional MSPs, CloudVantage offers full transparency, so audits, compliance reviews, and cost optimizations are seamless. The ability to rapidly implement client-driven features sets Protera apart, delivering solutions that evolve with your needs.
With CloudVantage watching over your account, you'll sleep better at night knowing your cloud is fully optimized, compliant, and cost-efficient. Reach out to your client service representative or Protera today and discover how transparency and proactive cloud management can transform your business. In addition, current Protera clients can access CloudVantage here.