50 ways to cut your cloud costs

Cloud spend keeps going up and up - and is forecast to increase by over 21% to hit $597 billion in 2023. And whilst much of this spend is driving innovation and value, roughly 1/3 ends up wasted.  

Luckily, there are plenty of levers for you to pull to make sure your cloud spend is working hard for you.

So, here's 50 ways to help reduce your cloud computing costs:

1. Right-size your instances: Optimise your instance types and sizes based on your actual resource requirements.
2. Use cost calculators: Utilise cloud service providers' cost calculators to estimate and plan your expenses.
3. Reserved Instances: Take advantage of reserved instances to receive discounts for longer term commitments.
4. Spot Instances: Utilise spot instances for non-critical and flexible workloads, which offer significant cost savings.
5. Autoscaling: Implement auto-scaling to dynamically adjust resources based on demand, preventing overprovisioning.
6. Scheduled instances: Schedule instances to run only during specific times or periods of high demand.
7. Use serverless computing: Employ serverless architectures like AWS Lambda to pay only for actual usage.
8. Utilise containerization: Containerize your applications with tools like Docker to improve resource utilisation and reduce costs.
9. Consolidate services: Identify and consolidate similar services or applications to reduce redundant resources.
10.  Use low-cost regions: Deploy resources in regions where costs are generally lower.
11.  Use efficient storage: Opt for the most cost-effective storage options like Amazon S3 Glacier
12.  Data transfer optimization: Minimise data transfer costs by compressing and consolidating data before transmission.
13.  Set up spending alerts: Configure spending alerts to receive notifications when costs exceed predefined thresholds.
14.  Use serverless databases: Employ managed database services like Amazon RDS  to eliminate infrastructure costs.
15.  Reserved capacity for databases: Leverage reserved capacity options for databases to reduce costs.
16.  Use caching: Implement caching mechanisms to reduce the load on databases and lower costs.
17.  Monitor resource utilisation: Continuously monitor resource utilisation to identify opportunities for optimization and cost reduction.
18.  Implement data lifecycle management: Set up automated data lifecycle policies to move or delete data based on predefined rules.
19.  Optimise data storage tiers: Use the appropriate storage tiers (hot, cool, archive) based on data access frequency and cost.
20.   Use native cost management tools: Leverage built-in cost management tools provided by cloud service providers.
21.  Use third-party cost management tools: Explore third-party tools that provide advanced cost analytics and optimization capabilities.
22. . Remove unused resources: Identify and decommission unused instances, volumes, and other resources.
23. . Use resource tagging: Implement resource tagging to track and allocate costs accurately.
24.   Use resource groups: Group related resources together to easily manage and track costs.
25.   Rightsizing databases: Resize your databases based on actual utilisation and performance requirements.
26.   Use reserved capacity for network resources: Utilise reserved capacity options for network-related services.
27.   Optimise networking: Use virtual private networks (VPNs) or direct connections for cost-effective and secure connectivity.
28.   Implement data compression: Compress data before storing or transmitting it to reduce storage and bandwidth costs.
29.   Optimise database queries: Optimise queries to minimise data retrieval and processing costs.
30.   Use cost-effective load balancing: Choose the appropriate load balancing options based on your requirements and costs.
31.  Utilise serverless queuing: Use managed message queuing services to eliminate the need for dedicated infrastructure.
32.   Use managed Kubernetes services: Opt for managed Kubernetes services to reduce the operational overhead of running your own cluster.
33.   Utilise reserved cache nodes: Reserved cache nodes can provide cost savings for caching services like Amazon ElastiCache
34.   Monitor and optimise data egress: Minimise data egress costs by optimising how data is transferred out of the cloud.
35.   Use pay-as-you-go services: Leverage pay-as-you-go services to pay only for what you use, avoiding upfront costs.
36.   Use cloud cost management APIs: Leverage cloud provider APIs to automate cost management and optimization processes.
37.   Optimise licensing: Utilise bring-your-own-licence (BYOL) options for software to reduce licensing costs.
38.   Leverage cloud provider incentives: Take advantage of promotions, credits, or discounts offered by cloud service providers.
39.   Use preemptible instances: Explore preemptible instances that provide lower costs but can be interrupted with short notice.
40.   Use cloud cost governance policies: Define and enforce cost governance policies to ensure cost awareness and control.
41.  Utilise serverless analytics: Adopt serverless analytics services to minimise infrastructure costs for data processing and analytics.
42.   Use multi-year contracts: Negotiate multi-year contracts with cloud providers for additional discounts.
43.   Optimise data backups: Adjust backup frequency and retention policies to balance cost and recovery requirements.
44.   Use managed services: Leverage managed services instead of building and maintaining your own infrastructure.
45.   Use cloud provider marketplaces: Explore cloud provider marketplaces for cost-effective third-party software and services.
46.   Share resources across teams: Encourage resource sharing among teams to reduce duplicated infrastructure.
47.   Utilise cloud provider cost savings plans: Investigate cost savings plans offered by cloud providers to reduce long-term costs.
48.   Optimise disaster recovery: Assess and optimise your disaster recovery strategies to minimise costs without sacrificing resilience.
49.   Consider hybrid or multi-cloud strategies: Evaluate hybrid or multi-cloud architectures to leverage the most cost-effective options across providers.
50.   Continuously review and optimise: Regularly assess your cloud infrastructure, costs, and usage patterns to identify further opportunities for optimization.

Remember, the effectiveness of these cost-reduction strategies may vary based on your specific requirements and the cloud service provider you use. It's important to regularly review and optimise your cloud resources to maximise cost savings and efficiency.

Need help getting to grips with your cloud costs?

Look no further! Our Cloud Cost Experts have helped large enterprises (like a major UK insurer) save $100,000's on their cloud bills, as well as assessing and improving the cloud spend of smaller organisations - like the SaaS provider who shaved 24% off their bill!

Want to start saving on your cloud bill? Book a free consultation today!