Yes, cloud cost can be decreased. Whether it is AWS, GCP, or Azure, the cost of cloud services can be optimized using various techniques. This does not mean that we can bypass cloud platforms or play tricks to reduce costs, but by using the right optimization approach, we can reduce cloud costs by up to 39%, which is a very significant number.
Assess Actual Requirements
One of the most basic techniques to reduce costs is to assess the actual requirements. Sometimes, development teams launch larger instances just to ensure application stability, but they are often unaware of the costs incurred. Similarly, backup volumes may be created in databases during releases or website testing, but these volumes are often not terminated after use, leading to increased costs. Additionally, old snapshots and unattached volumes that are no longer required should be deleted.
Check Traffic Spikes
Sometimes, local script kiddies launch scanning or enumeration attacks, causing traffic spikes. This triggers the load balancer to launch new instances, increasing costs unnecessarily. In such cases, IP blocking, AWS WAF, and Security Hub can be used. However, attackers can change IPs and relaunch attacks, making manual intervention impractical. At DevOptiv, we address this issue through automation.
Use Reserved Instances
When you are certain about the minimum compute power required to run your application and handle average traffic, reserved instances can significantly reduce costs. On-demand instances are typically more expensive. However, assessing the actual required compute power can be challenging, so it’s best to consult reliable, certified partners like DevOptiv.
Utilize Spot Instances
For background processes and batch processes such as CI/CD pipelines or Terraform deployments, spot instances can be used. These instances are much cheaper than standard computer VMs.
Use Cold Storage
For infrequently accessed data, use cold storage options. For example, Amazon provides S3 Glacier, and Azure offers Blob Cool Tier. These options are significantly cheaper than EBS and EFS.
Implement Auto-Scaling and Serverless Architecture
Instead of jumping directly to high-compute VMs, consider auto-scaling and serverless architectures. These solutions automatically scale VMs based on traffic spikes and terminate them once the spike subsides. To reduce bandwidth costs, a Content Delivery Network (CDN) can also be utilized.
Auto-Parking for Non-Production Environments
Auto-parking is an excellent way to reduce costs by scheduling automatic shutdowns of non-production environments (e.g., development and testing environments) outside working hours. This approach can save charges for approximately 15 hours per instance volume daily.
Regular Monitoring and Cost Analysis
Regular monitoring with tools like AWS Cost Explorer helps gain insights into which resources are generating higher bills and enables better cost management.
Leverage Cloud Optimization Tools
Almost every cloud service provider offers multiple tools to optimize costs. For example, AWS provides Trusted Advisor (an automated tool offering best practice guidance), CloudWatch, Anomaly Detector, and AWS Budgets. Similarly, Azure offers Azure Saving Plans.
Architecture Design
A well-designed architecture helps ensure that we are paying only for what is actually required. That’s why the architecture of the application must be designed in the right way, so that we have at least some idea of the actual cost.
Hybrid Approach
Recently, most companies have shifted to a hybrid approach, using different clouds for storage and compute based on lower pricing. Some companies have even shifted their backups to local storage, as a 10 TB hard disk costs approximately $240, while the monthly cost of 10 TB S3 cloud storage is $235.52. Therefore, with the cost of one month of cloud storage, we can access a lifetime of 10 TB storage locally.
Consult Experts
Not everyone is an expert in cloud cost optimization, and hiring an in-house cloud engineer may not always be budget-friendly. Instead, reach out to cloud experts like DevOptiv. Specialize in helping businesses optimize their cloud costs while driving innovation and accelerating growth.
Here, ‘instance’ refers to a computer VM (Windows or Ubuntu), and ‘volumes’ refer to database storage. By adopting these strategies, organizations can effectively manage and reduce their cloud costs while maintaining operational efficiency and scalability.
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