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Quick checks

Storage costs

What bringing a full copy home from the cloud would cost comes down to one multiplication

About 15 minutes, with last month's cloud bill

Two numbers on paper you already have give a floor for the day you need your copy back. Find each one, multiply, and write the result next to the date.

Yes 2
Written down, with a date (a log, a screen, a document), and it meets your own plan.
Partly 1
Remembered, but not written down, or the record shows you missed your plan.
No 0
Nobody knows, or it was never done. A blank is a finding.

"None, checked on a date" counts as a record. No plan or target written down? Write your guess first, then measure: the guess is your plan.

Tap No, Partly or Yes for each question. Your score adds up as you go. Nothing you tap is saved or sent.

Five questions about your own setup

  1. 1 The rate

    Your answer, and where it is written down (with the date) What rate does your provider charge for data leaving the cloud, and what unit is it priced in?

    Your answer
    Score 0, 1 or 2This quarterNext quarter

    How to raise it

    Where to find it:
    The data-out (egress, meaning data leaving the cloud) line on last month's bill. Write down the price and the unit it is priced in.
    To get it to a 2:
    The price and its unit, read off a bill, with the date.

  2. 2 The size

    Your answer, and where it is written down (with the date) How big is a full copy of your data, or your largest dataset to start?

    Your answer
    Score 0, 1 or 2This quarterNext quarter

    How to raise it

    Where to find it:
    Your backup system's report shows the protected total. If you do not know a full copy's size, start with your largest dataset.
    To get it to a 2:
    A size read from the backup report or console, with the date, not an estimate.

  3. 3 The multiplication

    Your answer, and where it is written down (with the date) What do you get when you multiply the rate by the size, and is it written down with today's date?

    Your answer
    Score 0, 1 or 2This quarterNext quarter

    How to raise it

    Where to find it:
    Rows 1 and 2, multiplied. Use the same unit for both before you multiply.
    To get it to a 2:
    The result written down with the date.
    What this does not prove:
    A rate per unit looks small on a monthly bill. Times a full copy, it is a different number, and this is a floor, not the full price.

  4. 4 The other lines

    Your answer, and where it is written down (with the date) What other lines does your provider's price page add for a large retrieval, such as retrieval, request or early deletion?

    Your answer
    Score 0, 1 or 2This quarterNext quarter

    How to raise it

    Where to find it:
    The retrieval, request and early-deletion sections of your provider's price page.
    To get it to a 2:
    Each line written down, or none, checked on a date.

  5. 5 The last time it was read

    Your answer, and where it is written down (with the date) When did someone last check these numbers against a real bill?

    Your answer
    Score 0, 1 or 2This quarterNext quarter

    How to raise it

    Where to find it:
    Your notes, or read last month's bill now.
    To get it to a 2:
    A dated read inside the interval your team sets. No interval written down? Write your guess and score against it.

Your total, out of 10

9-10 Known
Score the same page again next quarter.
5-8 Partly known
Fix your lowest row this week.
0-4 Assumed
Do row 1 this week.

Two rules beat the total: if row 1 scores below 2, the result is Assumed. Any row that missed your plan or guess is your next step.

When you last brought a large copy back from the cloud, did the bill match what you expected?

What this does not prove

This is a floor, not the full price: the lines on your provider's price page can add to it, and it says nothing about how long the data takes to come home. It argues neither for nor against the cloud.

Made by StepKnock, a small team in San Diego, paid through our partners when a customer buys. This page sells nothing.

Related

Use it with: What would bringing my cloud copy home cost, and how long would it take?

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