> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developer.harness.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developer.harness.io/cloud-cost-management/new-to-cacm/overview.md).

# Overview

Harness Cloud & AI Cost Management (CACM) gives you one place to see and control what you spend across cloud, AI, and external sources. Whether you use AWS, Azure, GCP, OpenAI, Anthropic, or external tools like SaaS and data centers, all your costs flow into a single view so you can analyze, allocate, and act without jumping between dashboards.

<figure><img src="/files/kNxR7q09011p2YTVLpxa" alt=""><figcaption><p>Harness Cloud &#x26; AI Cost Management</p></figcaption></figure>

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### Cloud and AI Cost Challenges <a href="#cloud-and-ai-cost-challenges" id="cloud-and-ai-cost-challenges"></a>

Cloud and AI spend share the same core problems: costs are fragmented, hard to attribute, and discovered late. CACM solves each of them across both.

| Problem                                                                                                                               | How CACM Solves It                                                                                      |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Spend is fragmented across cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP and AI providers like OpenAI and Anthropic, with no unified view. | One **Cost Explorer** for every provider.                                                               |
| No way to attribute cost to a team, workload, agent, or request.                                                                      | **Cost Categories** and **AI trace attribution** link every dollar to its source.                       |
| Chargeback is manual with no link to business outcomes.                                                                               | **Allocation rules** and **trace-level attribution** let you report by team, feature, or agent session. |
| Spikes are discovered only after the invoice arrives.                                                                                 | **Budgets** and **Anomaly Detection** alert you the moment spend deviates.                              |

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### Next Steps <a href="#next-steps" id="next-steps"></a>

* Go to [Get Started](/cloud-cost-management/new-to-cacm/quickstart.md) to connect your first cloud or AI provider.
* Go to [Navigating CACM](/cloud-cost-management/new-to-cacm/navigating-cacm.md) to understand what CACM offers across visibility, governance, and optimization.