From Chaos to Clarity: 3 Cloud Cost Optimization Strategies That Work

Cloud costs spiraling? Three strategies deliver 30-40% savings in 60-90 days:

## Strategy 1: Rightsize Everything (Target: 15-20% savings)

**The Problem**: Default instance sizes are oversized

**The Fix**:
- Run utilization analysis (CPU, memory, network)
- Downsize instances running <40% utilization
- Use burstable instances for variable workloads
- Schedule shutdown for non-production (nights, weekends)

**Real Example**: Manufacturing company downsized 180 instances, scheduled dev/test shutdown 16 hours/day. Savings: $38K monthly.

## Strategy 2: Reserved Instances & Savings Plans (Target: 10-15% savings)

**The Problem**: Paying on-demand rates for steady-state workloads

**The Fix**:
- Identify workloads running 24/7 for 12+ months
- Commit to reserved instances (40-60% discount)
- Use savings plans for flexible commitment
- Start with 1-year terms, extend to 3-year once confident

**Real Example**: Financial services committed $240K/year reserved capacity. Discount: $156K annually (65% off on-demand rates).

## Strategy 3: Eliminate Waste (Target: 5-10% savings)

**The Problem**: Forgotten resources burning money

**The Fix**:
- Delete unattached storage volumes
- Remove old snapshots (>90 days)
- Terminate zombie instances
- Clean up unused load balancers and IPs

**Real Example**: Retail company found 847 unattached volumes, 2,340 old snapshots. Cleanup saved $23K monthly.

## Bonus: Auto-Scaling

- Scale up during peak hours
- Scale down during off-peak
- Match capacity to actual demand

**Result**: 20-30% reduction in compute costs while improving performance during peaks.