Why the cloud bill keeps growing
The cloud was supposed to be cheaper and simpler. For many companies it costs more than the servers it replaced. That is not because the cloud is bad - it is about how it is used. Here is where the problem lies.
Why it happens
With your own server you pay once and then you own it. If you do not use it fully, nobody minds - the money was spent long ago.
The cloud works the other way round: you pay for every hour and every gigabyte, continuously. That is both its advantage and its trap. When someone spins up a test environment and forgets to shut it down, on a physical server nothing happens. In the cloud it appears on your invoice every month.
There is a human factor too: in the cloud a new server takes thirty seconds. No approval, no purchase order. Excellent for speed - bad for budgets.
The cloud is not expensive in itself. Unused cloud is expensive, and so is cloud configured with headroom. Most companies pay for capacity they will never use.
Where cloud money is most often wasted
- Machines that are too large. Sized for the worst possible scenario. Real utilisation is a fraction - and you pay the difference every hour.
- Environments running at night and at weekends. Nobody needs the test environment on a Saturday, yet it runs 168 hours a week instead of 40.
- Orphaned resources. Disks from deleted servers, unattached IP addresses, old snapshots. Individually small amounts, together a surprise.
- Data on the most expensive tier. An archive nobody opens sits where you pay for instant access.
- Unused discounts. Providers offer significantly lower prices for a one- to three-year commitment. If you know what will run long term, that is free money.
- Data transfer. The line item nobody expects until the invoice arrives.
What I do about it
Cost visibility
I break the invoice down into what drives it - and, crucially, whose it is. Without that you cannot optimise, because you do not know where to reach.
Quick wins
Switching off the unused, resizing the oversized, shutting down test environments overnight. The effect shows on the next invoice.
Structural measures
Commitment discounts, moving data to cheaper storage, automatic scaling with load. This is where lasting savings come from.
Keeping it that way
Setting up reporting and alerts so that anything running away is visible immediately. Otherwise you are back where you started within a year.
Migration to the cloud - and back
The cloud is not a universal answer. For some systems - steady load, large volumes of data, strict requirements on where data resides - your own hardware works out cheaper. The fact that everyone is moving to the cloud is not a reason to do the same.
So I look in both directions. The numbers decide, not the trend. Sometimes a move to the cloud makes sense, sometimes a move back, most often a combination - part in the cloud, part with you.
When this makes sense
- The cloud bill grows faster than the company.
- You are planning a migration and want a cost estimate that still holds in a year.
- You run both cloud and your own servers and are not sure the split is sensible.
- The board asks why IT costs so much and you need an answer with numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Will something break if we downsize?
No. Changes are made gradually and with measurement - starting with what carries no risk. The goal is to cut cost, not availability.
How much can we realistically save?
Typically up to 20% of operating costs. It depends on how neglected the environment is - more where cloud has never been optimised, less where it is well managed.
Do you cover both AWS and Azure?
Yes, both. The principles are the same; the details and terminology differ.
Our cloud is run by a vendor. Is an audit worth it?
Often precisely then. A vendor has no incentive to reduce their own invoice. An independent view tends to be most valuable in these environments.
Is your cloud bill growing?
I review your environment and tell you where the money goes and what to do about it. No obligation, within five days.
Book a free consultation →