Cloud Cost Management: 4 tips to reduce your cloud bill
You have just migrated your IT ecosystem to the Cloud and you can't control your budget? Your company has been using the Cloud for several months and invoices are increasing? Don't know where to start to take charge of your Cloud expenses? The main challenge of migrating to the Cloud is cost management. Many companies today are facing this challenge, without succeeding in significantly optimizing their invoices. This is due to a lack of visibility on the sources of expenditure, a lack of team accountability or a multi-cloud universe that is sometimes difficult to manage. If you want to take control of your Cloud strategy and reduce your invoice easily, here are five tips for implementing a relevant Cloud Cost Management strategy.
Before you start, be reassured: you are not alone. In 2019, according to a ParkMyCloud study, $14.1 billion was wasted on unused cloud resources. That makes them companies that would do better to look into it, doesn't it? So it seems that you are on the right track.
Opt for the responsible cloud: say stop to forgotten resources
Before embarking on profound transformations and important decision-making, it is important to start your Cloud Cost Management strategy by implementing a new way of designing your Cloud. A little scenario: you can't imagine leaving your oven on all night after cooking a wonderful dish for your little family, can we agree? Of course it is. Where does this consciousness come from? Several reasons cross in your mind, in a natural way:
- "leaving the oven on all night would consume unnecessary energy and would therefore greatly increase my electricity bill" (that's the financial reflex)
- "in addition to costing me money, this intensive consumption is bad for the environment" (this is your ecological conscience)
- " and then, it seems a little dangerous to leave an empty oven thermostat 8 for six hours for no reason" (that's your conscience at all)
In the case of the Cloud, let's leave out the "security" part. Presumably, your offices will not burn if you forget to shut down an unnecessary instance. Not even the data centers of your cloud provider. Secondly, as far as the environmental impact is concerned, it is good to bear in mind that an unused resource is a source of unnecessary energy consumption and that it is therefore interesting to have a responsible vision on this point.
But the question that interests us from a Cloud Cost Management perspective is obviously the financial notion. Let's try to think of the problem in reverse: what is the point of having unused resources active all night long? The answer is simple: none. As much as leaving a light on in an empty room, for example. And since invoicing is done on a pay-per-use basis, it is therefore necessary to be aware of this.
The first step in a coherent Cloud Cost Management strategy is therefore based on team empowerment and the implementation of a responsible Cloud. A multitude of daily best practices can help your company quickly reduce its Cloud expenses.
Set technical and financial objectives
However, implementing a more responsible framework is not enough to sustainably optimize your Cloud invoices. It is then necessary to set up a medium or long term strategic vision to reduce your invoices.
Start by identifying the needs and ambitions of your company or project. Faced with these ambitions, it will then be natural to set concrete objectives, both from a technical point of view, but also from a financial point of view. If your project needs a lot of Cloud resources, you adapt your Cloud Cost Management strategy taking into account the fact that your budgets will be higher. On the contrary, a smaller project should not exceed a certain budget cap, otherwise you may consider yourself part of that famous 14.1 billion in annual waste.
The idea in setting such a course will be to better size your capacities in relation to your needs and to maintain an essential framework for controlling expenses. Clear budgets in the face of clear needs: this is the motto to remember.
The FinOps approach: a major asset in your Cloud Cost Management strategy
Maintaining an effective strategy is not always easy. You may have already made this observation in your structure. "It is easy to set up rules and objectives, but difficult to respect all this in the long term...".
Have you ever heard of FinOps? If this is not the case, we advise you to consult our presentation of Finops to better understand its role and place in your Cloud Cost Management strategy. If you know him, then you probably see where we're going with this. In short, FinOps is a hybrid profile within an IT team that links technology and financial management. Its dual profile therefore allows it to better identify the company's needs, both technically and financially.
From a cost optimization perspective, recruiting a FinOps or setting up a team dedicated to controlling Cloud expenses is an almost necessary step for optimal management.
Choose a Cloud Cost Management tool
There are many good practices that can help your teams keep your cloud expenses under constant control, and it is not easy to name one in particular. To help you implement your Cloud Cost Management strategy and gradually reduce your Cloud expenses, professional tools include many useful features.
Alerting system, multi-cloud dashboard, instance comparator, optimization reports, budget forecast... All these features can help your teams to better control their expenses and allow you to remain confident about your monthly invoice.
This is what we offer you with our Cloud Cost Management tool, developed with one ambition in mind: to help you reduce your Cloud invoices with ease. If you are tempted by our product and would like to know more, please do not hesitate to contact our sales team by clicking here. If you would like to discover our product and test its impact on your business, you can enjoy a 14-day free trial, with no obligation. This is your opportunity to take control of our platform and take your first steps in your new Cloud Cost Management strategy.
