Feature Friday: Simplifying Cloud Billing Management with Kion

Managing cloud billing across multiple providers can be a complex task. However, with the Kion platform, you can streamline the process and gain better control over your financial reporting. Let's explore the concept of billing sources within the Kion platform and how they enable efficient billing management across various cloud providers.

What are Billing Sources?

Billing sources in the Kion platform refer to the cloud accounts within each provider that grant access to billing information. By establishing connections with these specific accounts, Kion can pull in financial reporting and map it across a complex multi-cloud footprint. Billing sources serve as a centralized hub for managing billing-related data and activities.

In Kion, you can find billing sources under Accounts in the left menu.

Managing Azure Billing Sources

The billing source for Azure can be either the Azure CSP Enterprise Agreement (EA) or the Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA). Connecting the appropriate billing source in Kion allows you to access financial reporting and gain insights into your Azure cloud spending.

Managing Google Cloud Billing Sources

For Google Cloud, the billing source corresponds to the Google Billing account. By linking your Google Billing account with Kion, you can consolidate your financial reporting and effectively manage your Google Cloud expenses.

Managing AWS Billing Sources

In the case of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the billing source is the AWS Management account. Establishing a connection between your AWS Management account and Kion enables you to monitor financial data, such as reporting sync status, connected reserved instances, and associated AWS accounts.

Understanding Billing Sources in Kion

Within the Kion platform, you can view detailed information about each billing source. For example, when exploring the billing source connected to an AWS Management account, you can check the status and connection details. This includes the date and time of the last reporting sync, information about connected reserved instances, and the AWS accounts associated with the management account.

Furthermore, Kion provides insights into how it manages various accounts. For instance, you can see the number of accounts mapped into managed projects, the accounts in cache waiting for deployment, and the AWS accounts tied to the management account outside of Kion. This comprehensive overview ensures that all your cloud resources are conveniently managed under one roof.

In-depth Reporting and Analysis

Kion offers a deeper level of reporting and analysis tied to each billing source. You can explore invoice reporting and spend reporting to gain a better understanding of your cloud expenditures. These features empower you to track and analyze costs across different cloud providers, enabling effective budgeting and cost optimization.

System Diagnostics

To get a high-level overview of your financial data across the Kion platform, you can access Settings and then System Diagnostics on the left menu. Under Last Bill Load, you can find the date and time of the last financial sync from each billing source with their respective cloud providers. This information helps you stay up-to-date with the latest financial data.

Conclusion

Managing cloud billing across multiple providers can be simplified by leveraging the capabilities of the Kion platform. By establishing billing sources, you can consolidate financial reporting, gain insights into spending, and effectively manage your cloud expenses. Whether it's Azure, Google Cloud, or AWS, Kion provides a unified solution for comprehensive billing management.

For more detailed information and guidance on billing sources and cloud provider connections, visit our Success Center.

Not yet a Kion customer and want to learn more about our cloud enablement platform? Reach out to our team to request a demo.