What Is IBM Turbonomic?
IBM Turbonomic is an AI-powered software platform to optimize the performance and cost of hybrid cloud environments. It continuously monitors an organization’s IT infrastructure, automatically making real-time adjustments to balance compute, storage, and network resources without human intervention.
Turbonomic supports cloud environments like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, as well as on-premises data centers and Kubernetes. Key use cases include cloud optimization, migration planning, FinOps automation, and Kubernetes management. By leveraging AI-driven insights, Turbonomic provides actionable recommendations that improve efficiency across teams.
IBM Turbonomic Pricing Tiers and Features
Trial
The Trial package provides a free 30-day evaluation of IBM Turbonomic with no credit card required. It allows users to explore Turbonomic’s optimization capabilities for their cloud and on-premises environments.
Price: Free for 30 days.
Features:
- Users gain access to unlimited optimization of their application resources and cloud costs for AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud environments.
Limitations:
- The Trial lasts for 30 days.
- After the trial, features and access are restricted unless upgraded to a paid plan.
Essentials
The Essentials package is for small and growing businesses seeking a foundational level of cloud optimization and performance management for their environments.
Price: $40,000 USD per year.
Features:
- Unlimited optimization for public cloud environments, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
- Kubernetes optimization for platforms such as EKS, AKS, and GKE.
- Application and database resource optimization for services like PaaS and databases (e.g., SQL, RDS).
- Access to tools for optimizing application and cloud resource costs.
- No limitations on the number of managed virtual servers (MVS) during the trial period.
Limitations:
- Supports an annual cloud spend of less than $2 million.
Standard
The Standard package is for large enterprises that require optimization for complex, hybrid cloud environments. It includes a wider range of features to maintain performance and control costs across both cloud and on-premises infrastructure.
Price: Priced per monitored cloud spend (e.g., % of cloud spend) or number of managed virtual servers (MVS).
Features:
- Public cloud optimization for AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, supporting both IaaS and PaaS.
- Kubernetes optimization across EKS, AKS, GKE, and other container platforms.
- Application and database resource optimization for PaaS, APM tools, and databases.
- Datacenter Secure Connect tunnel for securely optimizing on-premises assets behind the firewall.
- On-premises data center optimization for hyperconverged infrastructure and storage systems.
- SLO-driven optimization, allowing teams to define and automate service level objectives (SLOs).
- Enterprise SSO for user access through the organization’s identity management system.
- Flexible deployment options: SaaS or managed software, depending on enterprise needs.
Limitations:
- This package is best suited for enterprises managing more than $2 million in annual cloud spend or over 200 managed virtual servers (MVS).
- It includes more complex features, requiring deeper integration and potentially more custom setup.
IBM Turbonomic Limitations
When evaluating Turbonomic and its pricing, organizations should be aware of the following limitations, reported by users on the G2 platform.
Complexity of Configuration and Setup
The platform’s feature set requires effort to integrate with existing IT infrastructure. This may involve configuring various components, such as cloud environments, on-premises systems, and Kubernetes clusters. The complexity also means that organizations might need to employ or train specialized personnel to manage and operate the tool effectively.
Companies may face additional costs for training and onboarding, which could delay the platform’s full implementation and optimization potential. For some, these upfront challenges might make the solution less accessible, particularly for smaller teams with limited technical resources.
Reporting Customization Limitations
IBM Turbonomic provides users with detailed reports on resource utilization, performance metrics, and cost optimization. However, one of the platform’s limitations lies in its lack of customization options for reporting. While the available reports cover a wide range of useful data, users who need to tailor reports may find the current reporting capabilities inadequate.
This limitation can hinder organizations that rely on highly specialized metrics or data visualization to make informed decisions. Expanding the reporting feature to allow greater customization, such as selecting data points or creating more flexible visual layouts, would improve the platform’s ability to generate actionable insights that align with organizational goals.
Performance Issues with Large Data Loads
IBM Turbonomic’s performance can be limited when dealing with large datasets, particularly in Kubernetes environments. Users have reported that the platform struggles with synchronization issues, especially with Kubeturbo, a component used to manage Kubernetes resources. This can lead to noticeable delays or slowness in generating dashboards and reports.
The platform’s instability when handling large-scale environments reduces its efficiency, making it harder for IT teams to monitor and optimize resources in real-time. In high-demand settings, this can negatively impact the ability to react quickly to changes in resource usage, potentially leading to performance degradation or higher costs due to delayed optimizations.
UI Responsiveness
IBM Turbonomic’s user interface (UI) can be slow and unresponsive, particularly when managing environments with thousands of instances. This performance issue is especially noticeable when navigating through large datasets or interacting with the platform’s dashboards.
The slowness can impede the ability to make quick adjustments to resource allocation, which is crucial for maintaining optimal performance in dynamic cloud environments. While the development team is reportedly addressing these UI responsiveness issues, they still pose a challenge for users who require a smooth, efficient interface for daily operations.
Billing and Cost Accuracy
Some users have noted discrepancies between the platform’s predicted cost savings and actual savings, especially when it comes to additional licensing fees, such as those associated with SQL instances. This gap between projected and real savings can lead to budgeting issues, as organizations may overestimate the cost benefits of optimization actions recommended by Turbonomic.
The platform may also bill for instances that are not actively in use, which requires careful monitoring to avoid unnecessary expenses. To mitigate this, some organizations have had to implement custom IAM permissions to ensure that only necessary resources are billed, adding an extra layer of complexity to the platform’s management.
Related content: Read our guide to Turbonomic competitors
Faddom: The Ultimate, Cost-Effective Turbonomic Alternative
Faddom offers a fresh approach to infrastructure optimization by mapping IT ecosystems to the business applications they support. Instead of relying on AI-based automation for resource reallocation, it emphasizes full visibility and cost-efficient decision-making through business application mapping.
Key features:
- Agentless mapping: Completes infrastructure mapping within an hour without requiring credentials, ensuring security and ease of deployment.
- Business application mapping: Provides detailed visualizations of IT assets and their relationships to business applications, aiding in precise resource management.
- Cost optimization: Identifies underused servers and resources, helping to reduce operational costs efficiently.
- Lightweight deployment: Its lightweight nature ensures minimal disruption to existing systems during setup.
- Affordable pricing: Starts at $10K/year, making it accessible for organizations of various sizes.
Learn more about Faddom or start a free trial to the right!
