Cloud Cost Optimization: Getting More Value from Your Investment
Cloud computing promised cost savings, but many organisations find their bills growing faster than expected. Without proper governance and optimisation, cloud spending can spiral out of control. The good news is that most organisations can reduce cloud costs by 20-40% through systematic optimisation without sacrificing performance.
Common Causes of Cloud Waste
Overprovisioned resources running at low utilisation, forgotten development environments left running, unattached storage volumes accumulating charges, and lack of visibility into who is spending what and why. The pay-as-you-go model that makes cloud flexible also makes it easy to overspend.
Optimisation Strategies
- Right-sizing: Match resource allocation to actual workload requirements, not worst-case estimates
- Reserved capacity: Commit to predictable workloads for significant discounts (up to 72% savings)
- Spot instances: Use spare capacity for fault-tolerant workloads at steep discounts
- Auto-scaling: Scale resources dynamically based on demand rather than peak provisioning
- Storage tiering: Move infrequently accessed data to cheaper storage classes
- Scheduled shutdowns: Automatically stop non-production environments outside business hours
Cloud cost optimisation isn't about spending less - it's about spending smarter. Every pound saved on waste is a pound available for innovation.
Building Cost Awareness
Effective cloud cost management requires visibility, accountability, and continuous attention. Implement tagging for cost allocation, set up budgets and alerts, and make costs visible to the teams incurring them. When developers see the cost of their decisions, behaviour changes naturally.
Partner With VortexHive
At VortexHive, we help organisations optimise their cloud spending without compromising on capability. Our cloud cost assessments identify savings opportunities, and our ongoing management ensures those savings are sustained over time.
Ready to get more value from your cloud investment? Contact VortexHive for a cloud cost assessment.
