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While cloud computing revolutionises organisational operations with its scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency, it also introduces the challenge of cloud waste. 

Cloud waste, amounting to 32% of cloud spending in 2022, results from underutilised or un-optimised services, causing budgets to skyrocket. 

However, this challenge also presents an opportunity. By optimising your cloud tool usage, you can potentially save nearly a third of your cloud spending. 

So, let’s explore some smart tactics to help you reduce cloud waste and save money at your organisation. 

Perform a Comprehensive Cloud Audit 

To identify underutilised resources, overprovisioned instances, and unnecessary services before implementing cost-cutting strategies, conduct a comprehensive cloud audit. Utilise cloud management tools to generate reports on usage patterns, costs, and performance metrics. This initial assessment will form the foundation for implementing effective waste reduction tactics. 

Implement right-sizing strategies 

Avoid over-provisioning and waste by actively right-sizing your cloud resources to match your workload demands. Many organisations fall into the trap of acquiring excess user licenses or features they don’t need, leading to increased costs. 

To optimise your spending, analyse your workload requirements and leverage the tools offered by your cloud service provider. These tools can help you identify and adjust the capacity of your instances, ensuring you only pay for the resources you truly utilise. 

Leverage Reserved Instances and Savings Plans 

To significantly reduce your cloud costs over time, explore cost-saving options offered by your cloud provider, such as Reserved Instances (RIs) and Savings Plans. 

Before committing, carefully analyse your workload and usage patterns to identify the most cost-effective option. Choose a plan that aligns with your organisation’s long-term goals, ensuring optimal cost savings. 

Implement automated scaling policies 

For dynamic workloads, implement automated scaling policies to ensure your infrastructure efficiently adapts to changing demands. This dynamic approach optimises performance by automatically scaling resources up or down, preventing overprovisioning during low activity periods. 

Most cloud services offer tools like AWS Auto Scaling and Azure Autoscale, which allow you to set predefined scaling policies. These features help you achieve efficient resource utilisation with no manual intervention. 

Implement storage tracking and optimisation strategies 

Combat rising storage costs by actively managing your cloud storage. Regularly review and delete unnecessary data, freeing up valuable storage space. 

To further optimise costs, estimate your storage needs and implement lifecycle policies. These policies can automatically downsize less-used data, like transitioning infrequently accessed files to cheaper storage options. This proactive approach to storage management significantly reduces data storage costs. 

Implement scheduled scaling for cloud resources 

Maximise your cloud resource efficiency by scheduling them to run only when needed. This could involve turning off development, testing, or staging environments during nights and weekends, or scaling down your production environment during off-peak hours. 

To automate this process and save time, leverage available cloud tools. Define automated rules and policies within these tools to manage your resource schedules effectively. 

Proactively identify and remove unused or orphaned cloud resources 

Avoid unnecessary cloud spending by actively managing and cleaning up your resources. Regularly audit your cloud environment to identify and delete any unused or orphaned resources, such as snapshots, backups, volumes, load balancers, IP addresses, or inactive accounts. 

Many cloud providers offer tools to streamline this process, making it easier to find and remove these forgotten resources. 

Eliminate duplicate cloud services 

Eliminate duplicate cloud services across departments to enhance collaboration, reporting, and data integration while saving money. 

Identify and remove overlapping services, such as different task management apps used by Marketing and Sales. Consolidating on a single, central tool empowers seamless collaboration and simplifies data management. 

Leverage serverless architecture 

Leverage serverless architecture to optimise resource use and cut cloud waste. With serverless, you only pay for the actual compute resources your applications utilise, eliminating the need for server provisioning and management. This significantly reduces operational complexity and costs. 

Optimise your cloud spending – Schedule your free assessment now. 

Reduce cloud waste, optimise spending, and save money at your organisation with these smart tactics. You’ll also gain operational efficiency and environmental sustainability. 

Struggling with rising cloud costs? Need help identifying and eliminating waste? Our team of cloud experts can guide you. 

Schedule your free cloud optimisation assessment with Aryon today and take control of your cloud environment.