3 FinOps Tactics to Slash Your Cloud Bill by Optimizing Under-the-Radar Resource Inefficiencies

The Hidden Cost Culprits Draining Your Cloud Budget

Here’s something most engineering teams miss: every line of code and deployment choice directly impacts your cloud bill. Let me show you how small optimizations can lead to big savings – often in places you wouldn’t think to look.

Why Surface-Level Checks Aren’t Enough

It’s like buying a rare coin based only on its shiny surface without checking the details that actually determine value. Many teams celebrate high uptime percentages while overlooking:

• Oversized EC2 instances running near idle
• Forgotten storage from old projects
• Serverless functions wasting memory

I once found 40% of a client’s AWS bill came from these exact issues.

FinOps Tactic #1: Right-Size First, Optimize Later

Just like coin mints adjust pressure for quality, you need to adjust your deployment approach.

Real Savings: $27k/month From Smarter Deployments

A SaaS company kept using this default command:

az vm create --name prod-web --size Standard_D16s_v3

After we implemented these changes:

# Smarter deployment script
az vm create \
--name prod-web \
--size Standard_D4s_v3 \
--auto-shutdown 1900-0700 \
--tags CostCenter=Prod RevenueCritical=true

The results spoke for themselves:

• 63% lower compute costs
• Faster deployments (smaller images)
• 45 unused VMs automatically cleaned up

FinOps Tactic #2: Stop Overpaying for “Premium” Resources

Teams often request oversized resources “just in case” – like overpaying for a coin’s grade without checking quality.

Simple Resource Matching Framework

Here’s how we categorize resources:

To implement:

1. Tag resources by efficiency level
2. Set up cost alerts for “wasteful” resources
3. Automate scaling adjustments

FinOps Tactic #3: Hunt Down Hidden Waste

Just as collectors examine coins closely, you need to scrutinize every cloud resource.

Serverless: Where Waste Hides Best

Common Lambda function inefficiencies:

• Too much memory allocated
• Unnecessary cold starts
• Bloat in deployment packages

Try this quick check:

# Lambda efficiency checker
import boto3
def evaluate_function(function_name):
client = boto3.client('lambda')
metrics = client.get_function_concurrency(Name=function_name)
utilization = metrics['ConcurrentExecutions'] / metrics['ReservedConcurrentExecutions']
return {
'MemoryStrikeEfficiency': utilization,
'CostPerGBSecond': calculate_cost(metrics)
}

Make Optimization Ongoing

We use a simple grading system:

• A+: Auto-scaled, spot-based infrastructure
• B: Reserved instances with good usage
• C: On-demand with manual scaling
• F: Orphaned resources

Teams improve by:

• Monthly cost reviews
• Right-sizing challenges
• Regular tagging audits

Start Finding Your Hidden Savings

The best cloud savings come from looking beyond the obvious. By focusing on these three areas, clients typically save 30-60% annually. Here’s how to begin:

• Run the Lambda checker on one function today
• Review your smallest VM size – could it be smaller?
• Check for unused storage from last quarter

What will you find when you look closer?

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