By IT Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
Although the cloud is an efficient way for companies to quickly spin up and maintain the computing power and storage they need for their daily operations, cloud-related costs can quickly spin out of control. Cloud cost optimization is a basket of best practices for reducing those cloud costs.
Although the cloud allows IT professionals to quickly spin up the compute, storage, networking, and other IT services they need, that ease of use can also generate enormous amounts of waste if left unchecked. For example, a company may accidentally leave a cloud-based dataset analysis running for days or weeks, racking up thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs.
The first step in cloud cost optimization is gaining full visibility into cloud spending. This could mean consolidating all cloud spending into a single dashboard, analyzing every workload, and establishing metrics for tracking costs, including unit cost, idle resource cost, and so on. That data will give IT professionals an idea of how to “rightsize” their cloud spend, as well as introduce new policies to curb wasteful spending in the future.
Building a culture of cost awareness around the cloud is likewise critical. IT professionals can work with FinOps experts to ensure that everyone involved in engineering, finance, and the broader business are all accountable for cloud spending. Establishing channels for sharing best practices and cost-saving strategies can help.
