Reducing cloud spend waste: a call for efficiency and sustainability

If reports are accurate, 2024 will see $678 billion in cloud costs, with 20-30% of that spending deemed wasteful. This translates to $135 billion that offers no business value. Is your organization contributing to this metric?

As homeowners, we get annoyed with ourselves if we leave the hose on all day, knowing that our water bill will increase needlessly. But for those of us who live in the desert like I do, it’s also the distress that our precious water resources were misused.  Our water comes from the wonderful winter snow in our mountains that runs off in the spring and summer.  If some is diverted to my garden hose pointlessly, it won’t get further into the valley for agriculture or drinking.  It is entirely lost, unable to provide value elsewhere.

Similarly, cloud spending without purpose results in money lost and resources wasted. Unused virtual machines running over the weekend or long-forgotten stored files contribute to the typical 20-30% waste experienced by companies, particularly in their early years in the cloud.

Furthermore, maintaining cloud resources requires ongoing electricity, cooling, and upkeep. Thus, the waste extends beyond finances to environmental impact. Here is where FinOps intersects with sustainability, often referred to as GreenOps.

FinOps provides a robust framework to oversee cloud usage efficiently. IT and technical leaders should establish centralized teams to monitor and reduce waste while educating other cloud teams on the importance of making every dollar spent valuable.

By prioritizing efficiency and sustainability, organizations can significantly reduce cloud spend waste, benefitting both their bottom line and the environment.