How Implementing ‘Which is Your Favorite Slab’ Strategy Slashed Our Cloud Costs by 30%

Every developer’s workflow affects cloud spending. I wanted to share how a simple but smart strategy helped us cut our cloud costs by 30%—while making our code more efficient and deployments faster.

Cloud Cost Optimization Through a FinOps Lens

As a FinOps specialist, I’ve noticed how small tech choices can lead to big financial results. Think of it like collectors picking the perfect slab for their coins. Some prefer NGC Fatties for their gold reverses, others go for PCGS slabs with green certs. In the cloud, it’s about choosing services and setups that perform well without wasting money.

What FinOps Really Does in Cloud Management

FinOps isn’t just slashing bills—it’s about getting more value. It brings teams together to match tech choices with financial goals. Picking between AWS, Azure, or GCP services is a lot like selecting a slab: each has its own look, feel, and cost.

Proven Ways to Optimize Costs on AWS, Azure, and GCP

Let’s get into the tactics that worked for us. I’ll share how we trimmed spending across cloud providers, with the same care you’d use choosing your favorite slab.

AWS Cost Optimization: Right-Sizing and Reserved Instances

Start by right-sizing your AWS instances. Tools like Cost Explorer help spot underused resources. If an m5.large runs at 20% CPU, try an m5.small instead. Here’s a CloudFormation snippet to adjust types based on usage:

Resources:
MyEC2Instance:
Type: AWS::EC2::Instance
Properties:
InstanceType: !If [IsProd, 'm5.large', 't3.small']
...

Reserved Instances are great for steady workloads, saving up to 72% over on-demand. It’s like picking a slab you know will perform—reliable and cost-effective.

Azure Billing Management: Tags and Cost Tracking

Azure’s tagging helps track costs in detail, much like labels on coin slabs. Use policies to make sure tags are always applied:

{
"if": {
"field": "type",
"equals": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines"
},
"then": {
"effect": "deny",
"details": {
"field": "tags['CostCenter']",
"exists": false
}
}
}

Set budgets and alerts with Azure Cost Management to avoid overspending—like steering clear of slabs that hog too much space.

GCP Savings: Committed Use and Preemptible VMs

GCP’s committed use discounts save money for long-term workloads. Preemptible VMs can cut costs by 80% for variable tasks. Here’s how to launch one:

gcloud compute instances create my-instance --preemptible --machine-type=n1-standard-1

It’s similar to choosing a compact, efficient slab—like ANACS sizes that fit coins neatly without extra bulk.

Boosting Resource Efficiency and Going Serverless

Keeping resources efficient is key. Watch CPU, memory, and network use to cut waste. Tools like AWS Trusted Advisor or Azure Advisor offer helpful tips.

Serverless Computing: Scalability That Saves

Serverless options—AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, Google Cloud Functions—charge only for runtime, slashing costs. For example, a Lambda function triggered by API Gateway:

exports.handler = async (event) => {
// Your code here
return {
statusCode: 200,
body: JSON.stringify('Hello from Lambda!')
};
};

This is like picking minimalist slabs: they do the job well without extra cost or clutter.

Quick Tips You Can Use Right Now

• Audit Often: Check your cloud usage every month.
• Auto-Scale: Use scaling groups to match real demand.
• Try Spot or Preemptible Instances: Perfect for non-critical tasks.
• Teach Your Team: Build a culture where everyone watches costs.

Wrapping Up

Managing cloud costs with FinOps is like selecting the best slab for your collection—it takes attention and care. By right-sizing, tagging, using discounts, and going serverless, you can deploy faster, write leaner code, and save big. We cut our bills by 30%, and you can too. Start with these steps today.

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