Hello and welcome to our inaugural Cloud Cost Optimisation blog where we look to highlight some of the latest news happening in Cloud Costs.

1. GCP’s (Google Cloud Platform) latest update of their Architectural Framework includes FinOps setup and operation

GCP have recently launched their new Cloud Architectural Framework and for the first time they have incorporated FinOps at the centre of their Cost Optimisation strategies. This makes GCP the first of the major Cloud providers to endorse FinOps and their ways of working which is a major achievement for the Foundation and recognises the value of using FinOps practices to fully manage and optimise Cloud costs.

If you haven’t already done so, now is the perfect time to gain more knowledge of FinOps. Not only is it being adopted by a number of enterprise organisations, Cloud Providers are making it an integral part of their offerings too.

Full details of how GCP utilise FinOps for Cost can be found here:

https://cloud.google.com/architecture/framework/cost-optimization

2. New ways of seeing (and understanding) your Cloud costs in AWS

2021 has been a great year for those looking for new ways to understand their cloud costs. By refreshing some well-known tools, and releasing some new ‘toys’, AWS has given users the chance to enhance cost allocation at a drop of a (few) clicks.

In terms of ‘old friends’, a freshly new and dedicated ‘Cost Categories’ section is now available within the AWS Cost Management Services. From this portal you can categorise our expenses across several dimensions, as well as create allocation rules to see costs fall into the right pot at the end of the month.

The new member of the family is the promising Application Cost Profiler. Those who rely on a shared infrastructure to provide their service can now have a breakdown of usage at an end user (aka tenant) level. For all of us who own at least one old cost accounting book, it’s time to take it down from the shelf, dust it off, and start working out customer-based cost models and price strategies.

Check the full details of these products by clicking on the links below and let us know what your first Cost Category will be:

AWS Cost Categories: https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/aws-cost-categories/

AWS Application Cost Profiler:  https://aws.amazon.com/aws-cost-management/aws-application-cost-profiler/?track=costma

3. Google Cloud empowers customers to incorporate low carbon energy into their resource strategy

With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) underway, it’s only fitting that we consider what cloud providers are doing to reduce their carbon footprints. While Cloud providers have faced considerable criticism in this space to date, significant steps have been made towards going green.

Google’s target is to be entirely carbon free by 2030 and AWS aims to emit net-zero annual carbon by 2040. FinOps practices relating to effective management and aggregation of resources and reduction in wastage all have considerable ecological benefits and play a role in achieving these goals.

Google’s latest feature in working towards their 2030 goal allows customers to select a resource region based on its carbon impact. This means that not only can you take into account the price and latency when selecting a region, but sustainability too.

Reducing your cloud footprint is not just about cutting costs, we all have a responsibility in achieving environmental sustainability. Get in touch to see how our FinOps team can reduce your cloud waste.

https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/sustainability/pick-the-google-cloud-region-with-the-lowest-co2

https://cloud.google.com/sustainability/region-carbon

4. Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 not only stopped international travel and made disposable masks mainstream, it also pushed cloud usage slightly or significantly higher than originally estimated by the vast majority of organisations (9 out of 10), according to the Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report. The report, based on a survey of 750 global respondents, is the 10^th annual look at trends related to cloud adoption, costs, usage, and challenges.

With companies of all sizes leveraging cloud technology to a much greater extent and much quicker than anticipated pre-pandemic, cloud costs remain their top consideration for the 5^th year in a row. The report also noted that mature organisations are, on average, more interested in optimising their existing use of cloud to realise cost savings than their less mature counterparts. To address this issue, 75% of the respondents opted to establish a centralise cloud team or cloud Centre of Excellence (CoE).

To access the Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report please click here.

Where do you go from here?

As John Ing wrote a year ago today, “For many, 2020 will be remembered as the year of COVID. It will also be remembered as the year which saw the acceleration of advancements in the world of technology, especially with the acceleration in the adoption and investment into Cloud technology.”

If trends are to be believed, businesses will continue to take advantage of the remote infrastructure. They’ll also look to continue engaging with Cloud vendors, perhaps being swayed to work with those looking to push the boundaries of what’s possible (AWS, Microsoft and Google to name just a few).

For cloud to remain a greater competitive advantage, businesses need to look at ways to reduce overall cost of ownership and remove the need for long term capital investments. You can achieve this by architecting your cloud solution in line with best practice so you’re more likely to avoid outage, unpredicted cost increases and fines for breaking out of contractual obligations early.

If you’re not sure where to start, GlobalLogic has a number of FinOps certified Practitioners ready to help your organisation implement FinOps methodologies.

We also have a great desire to help excel the establishment of a Centre of Excellence, irrespective of where you are on your cloud journey or what cloud management system you use. With the help of our FinOps certified Practitioners we can integrate into your existing ecosystem and drive positive behaviours to realise cost efficiencies that will keep you ahead of your competition.

If this sounds of interest, reach out at: https://www.globallogic.com/uk/contact/