Avoid These AWS Cloud Optimization Mistakes

Think back to the last tech conference you attended. Did you hear conversations about the cloud?

No surprise there. It’s predicted that companies will move between half to 75% of their systems to the cloud by 2025.

But how do you reconcile all that talk of migration as cloud costs increase?

There’s a growing risk of unpredictable internal cloud usage, complicating budget cycles with their cost fluctuations. Without an effective cloud optimization plan, you’ll get inaccurate forecasts. Leadership may also feel uncertain about the return they’re getting on their cloud investments.

If you see yourself in those scenarios, you’re not alone.

• A recent study found that nearly half of the companies surveyed “find it difficult to get cloud costs under control.”
• Of that same group, 54% believe the lack of insight into their cloud usage is the biggest factor in their cloud waste. Yet, lack of insight isn’t decreasing cloud spending.
• Worldwide public cloud spending alone is predicted to reach nearly $600 billion this year, a 20% increase over 2022.

While cloud costs rise and spending increases as business leaders struggle to unlock insights — how do you find savings and get the most out of your cloud?

Our extensive experience has shown the answer includes avoiding these challenges.

COMMON CLOUD COST AND OPTIMIZATION MISTAKES

FOCUSING SOLELY ON CUTTING COSTS

Cheaper cloud options seldom guarantee cost reduction. It’s a flawed approach from the start.

You’ll mistake savings for optimization if slashing expenses is the only objective.

To be effective, you need to balance it with investigating the efficiency of the resources you use.

NOT INVOLVING ALL PARTIES IN THE DECISION

Do you have the right people involved in your cloud cost-cutting decisions?

Frequently, the business side has the final say, despite the technical side seeing a more nuanced big picture. Taking this short-term approach of not including both groups will lead to problems in the long run.

The cloud is not a “set it and forget” system. Instead, optimization is ongoing and requires adopting the right systems and processes, starting during your cloud migration.

RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

The technical side tends to come to the table with inherited behaviors. If their mindset includes using the traditional IT data center model, it could knock your cloud optimization off track.

That approach may lead to using incorrect or outdated systems and processes, even after the cloud is in place.

It may feel like doing things as they’ve always been done is easier, but simply maintaining the status quo mindset inhibits your growth.

MANUAL PROCESS CARRY OVER

What happens when companies migrate to the AWS cloud platform but continue creating AWS resources manually?

Maybe your technical team doesn’t know there are more effective and efficient ways to do things. Or perhaps they simply don’t wish to learn.

Either way, continuing to use manual processes slows everyone down. In addition, just because you’ve migrated to AWS Cloud doesn’t mean your optimization is complete.

RUSHING IMPLEMENTATION

Alternatively, rushing your implementation can create serious complications. For example, teams using AWS resources to experiment or build a proof of concept can find their work put into production too soon due to a time crunch.

When this happens, the speed required results in less planning for the best overall infrastructure solution. That makes it harder to optimize or change the solution down the road.

Moving too fast can cost you.

If AWS resources aren’t implemented correctly — such as development accounts left running 24/7 or CloudWatch Logs set never to expire — you may end up with a bigger bill, wasted time, and little to show for your efforts.

THERE’S A BETTER WAY TO OPTIMIZE YOUR CLOUD SPEND

What if you could look at the whole picture?

How much would it help to see where, when, and what you use most? And not just see it — but be able to understand the best ways to optimize your cloud usage.

Even better, imagine if you could determine inefficient spending and ways to combine resources.

Ultimately, you could zero in on which cloud systems and resources work best for your business’s specific needs.

AWS OPTIMIZATION TOOLS

AWS provides you with ways to better understand your cloud spending. These services allow you to visualize, review, and control costs. You only pay for what you need.

• AWS resources such as Cost and Usage Reports (CUR) offer customized cost reports that integrate with AWS Athena, RedShift, or QuickSight. They track your AWS usage and provide estimated charges.
• Cost Explorer gives visual learners a graphical view of AWS spending to better understand your company’s trends.
• Within the Budget feature, you can specify budgets and get CloudWatch notifications when your budgeted spend is close to exceeding the limits.
• Use the AWS Trusted Advisor service to offload seldom-used resources. It analyzes your AWS account resources and identifies those with low utilization rates. It gives you potential cost optimization options to eliminate or use the infrastructure elements better.

SOFTESERVE OPTIMIZATION SUPPORT

These AWS optimization tools will make a major impact if you have an internal team that can use them. If not, bringing in a trusted partner with AWS experience will make up for any missing in-house resources.

SoftServe’s extensive AWS certifications demonstrate our cloud migration and optimization expertise. We assess everything from architecture and processes to cost structure and your company culture.

Our approach as your partner identifies the best AWS solution components to create immediate improvement and long-term success.

CONCLUSION

Uncertainty stalls innovation.

Regain the confidence that your cloud resource usage matches your spending. You’ll make data-backed business and strategy decisions that drive company growth. With AWS’ built-in tools and SoftServe’s dedicated support, you’ll unlock the maximum benefits from your cloud.

Let’s talk about how SoftServe’s AWS Cloud experts ensure you get the most out of your migration and optimization.