With Big Tech hyperscalers investing billions in local data centres and the Government taking a cloud-first stand, the migration of our data and applications to cloud platforms is in full swing.

But as David Reiss, my guest on this week’s episode of The Business of Tech, told me that moving to the cloud isn’t necessarily the panacea if you are looking to lower the ongoing costs of running your IT systems.

The co-CEO of 30-year-old tech services firm, Equinox IT, says costs can escalate quickly in the cloud without the controls and culture in place.

“Most organisations we talk to now are in the cloud,” Reiss said, “but they are suffering some of those problems due to the fact that they kind of evolved into it rather than necessarily having it being initially a strategic objective.”

Cloud “bill shock” is an increasing reality, not just in New Zealand but globally.

“There has definitely been a lot of higher [spending] than was expected. Some of the cloud pricing models appear very opaque, they appear very confusing, and it can be very difficult to figure out what is costing you money in the cloud environment if it’s not set up well to begin with,” Reiss said.

So what's the answer? a cultural change in our organisations where IT departments and business teams get on the same page about what they need to do in the cloud - and plan accordingly.

Listen to the full episode of The Business of Tech, powered by 2degrees Business, for a candid discussion of cloud realities, the human factors shaping IT outcomes, and how businesses can prepare for the next wave of digital change. Streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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