Cloud Computing Optimization: 3 Strategies for High Growth Companies

Cloud computing optimization is a growing priority, as engineering becomes more accountable for justifying growing AWS spend. Companies that are rapidly growing can be particularly vulnerable to large fluctuations in cloud spending, which often seem to strike without rhyme or reason. Getting a handle on cloud cost is a critical first step toward cloud computing optimization, and can result in more efficient and effective systems across the board. 

Here are three cloud computing optimization strategies your company can adopt today:

Understand your cloud usage data to make proactive choices.

Don’t wait until the monthly AWS Cost and Usage Report arrives to make critical changes to your infrastructure. The most important metrics for DevOps to monitor on an ongoing basis have to do with usage: including data on Compute, Database, Storage, and Data Transfer. For example, this type of usage data can show when a system or workload is over-provisioned. With access to this data, developers can rely on proactive strategies, such as leveraging AWS EC2 Spot Instances instead of more costly On-Demand pricing.

Cloud cost optimization platforms like CloudZero can help engineering teams understand the cost of their AWS usage. Since many teams may share AWS resources, or costs may be billed up-front on two- or three-year cycles, AWS bills can often be difficult to interpret for many DevOps teams. CloudZero breaks down the AWS bill into data teams can use to make proactive infrastructure decisions.

Know the biggest areas of potential cloud waste.

Many organizations may make simple cloud cost mistakes that could add up to major wasted spend over the course of a year. For example, misconfigured NAT Gateways can cause data to repeatedly or unnecessarily transfer between regions, which can be costly. Or, overuse of AWS Snapshots could be representing a disproportionate amount of the cloud bill, when backup snapshots aren’t even necessary.

Full visibility into live cloud costs and cloud cost anomaly detection can determine if some of these issues are plaguing your organization without your knowledge. AWS cost optimization tools can give teams access to the right data at the right time to increase both efficiency and application performance.

Cloud computing optimization should involve collaboration.

Too often, finance and engineering teams aren’t on the same page when it comes to purchasing cloud computing resources, and adjusting these resource allocations as the organization scales. Often, this is because engineering makes infrastructure decisions independently of finance, or vice versa. The two teams don’t typically speak the same language — perhaps because they have different goals, and often aren’t operating from a single source of truth to track spending.

A single source of truth can prevent busy SMB teams from having to interrupt their workflows to ask questions about cloud costs. Previously unexplained infrastructure decisions or cost anomalies can easily be tracked in a system of record to help both finance and engineering teams find the answers they need with a click of a button.

Your cloud computing optimization strategy doesn’t have to be a mystery. If you start by optimizing costs, you’ll find that other areas — including application performance — are improving where you least expect it. One advantage of being an SMB is the ability to build more efficient systems from the ground up, which cloud cost optimization platforms like CloudZero can help to achieve. 

Ready to get optimized? Reach out to CloudZero to learn more about getting the right data at the right time.

Author: CloudZero Team

This blog post was written and reviewed by the CloudZero team. Combined, our team has more than a quarter century of experience in the cloud cost space. Every blog post is extensively researched and reviewed by several members of our team for accuracy and readability.