When to Use Cost Forecasting

Viewing Forecasts

1. Log in to Cost Center.
2. Choose Cost Insights > Cost Analysis.
3. Specify the period.
   • If you want to view the forecasts by the month, the following periods are available: Current Month, +3M, +6M, and +12M.
   • If you want to view the forecasts by the day, the following periods are available: Current Month, +1M, and +3M.

   In this example, suppose you have chosen to view the cost and usage data over the last three months and the forecast for the next three months.

   

4. Click OK. The following page is displayed:

   

   • The blue bars represent the cost data generated in the past few months (including the current month).
   • The white bars represent the forecasted cost data for the next few months (including the current month).

     Table 1 The descriptions of the parameters in the command are as follows:

     Parameter	Description
     Cost forecast	Cost data forecasted by the month or the day
     80% cost prediction interval	80% of your actual costs should fall within the prediction interval.
     Accrued Total	Total costs in the past and current months during the statistical period You can configure Grouped By to summarize the costs.
     Forecast Total	Forecasted total costs in the current and future months during the statistical period Costs cannot be summarized by Grouped By.
     Total Cost	Total cost in each day or month

Creating a Forecasting-based Budget

1. Log in to Cost Center.
2. Choose Budget Management > Budgets.
3. Click Create Budget.
4. Select Custom Budget and click Create Budget.
5. Select Cost budget or Usage budget as needed, and click Next.
6. Configure the budget name, details, and scope, and click Next.
   

   If you select Daily for Reset Period when creating a budget, the following functions are not available:

   • Periodic budgeting
   • Forecast-based budget alerts
   • Cost categories used as filters in Budget Scope

7. Configure alert thresholds, including Thresholds and Recipients, and click Next.

   Set Thresholds to Forecast >.

   In this example, suppose you have chosen to receive an alert when the forecasted amount is greater than 80% of the budgeted amount.

   

8. Confirm your budget settings and click Save.

Scope of Forecasting-based Analysis

You can set the cost type to original costs, net original costs, amortized costs, or net amortized costs.

You can select pay-per-use usage, usage from packages.

You can set the data period to either daily or monthly.

Scope of Forecasting-based Budgets

You can set the budget type to cost budget or usage budget.

You can set the reset period to monthly, quarterly, or yearly.