Cloud's economic model is truly unique. It extends beyond basic variability and dictates how your cloud provider frames its services. Whether a cloud skeptic following a cloud-first mandate or one completely bought in on the promise of agile infrastructure, every infrastructure and operations (I&O) professional must now understand the sometimes counterintuitive cloud economics. For some, this report serves as a reminder about the core principles of strategic cloud use, whereas for others, it serves as a primer to kick off their first conversations about cloud economics.