With the whole world quickly shifting to a recession amidst COVID 19, companies are looking for ways to cut their costs. Very soon, the world will observe managers and owners driven by an urge to cut costs at every level to keep their companies afloat and running. Some may even make new commitments based on fragile objectivity, which can be lossy in the long term.

While most of the companies will undergo a full change of infrastructure, others will resort to bring in new technologies. Companies operating by taking services from cloud providers like AWS and others will have a great chance to obtain their functionalities in the coming months. AWS costs make up a large proportion and effectively reducing it, without hampering the outcome, will undoubtedly help them in the long term.

The question is, HOW?

The guide to effectively reduce your AWS costs and help your company thrive

Govern the Cloud at the company level.

Every activity that's happening on the Cloud has to be governed at the company level. Good practices that keep the company safe during these hard times must be decided at the company level itself and later implemented on the Cloud. The use of cloud resources has to be monitored and to obtain good results, its use must be rationalized. You have to weigh the cost differences of various cloud platforms for your operational needs.

Know your needs beforehand.

When you know the needs of your business beforehand, you can use the reserved resources. Reserved resources are cheaper than the resources that you get deployed on demand. 

Implement scaling if you haven't!

AWS cloud has a potential that, when implemented to the fullest, can itself reduce the costs for you. However, some companies use EC2 instances the way they would on traditional servers. Even with the least efforts, AWS services can be scaled and used to their fullest capacities. It can be the best way to attain a sustainable, scalable and cost-effective infrastructure.

Put a halt on unused instances.

The unused resources that, in the past, you decided to keep them must be stopped. It's even better if you start the practice of shutting down the unused instances at the end of the day or the week. AWS services like Elastic Beanstalk enables developers to deploy and redeploy their applications quickly without the need to worry about the infrastructure. Hence, replacing such services with the ones you are using will always prove to be a fair deal for you.

Implement a cloud cost management program

A cloud cost management program begins with a mapping of workflows and data flows. Each component has its own inputs/outputs and access to databases as well as special functions. However, it is not easy, and you may need to get in touch with experts for implementing this. But it's an excellent way to start managing cloud costs and map these relationships for all applications eligible for the Cloud. It will also help you identify potential "boundaries" in your deployments and ultimately in reducing your AWS costs.

Reduce the amount of cloud waste.

Studies show that cloud waste will exceed $17.6 billion by the end of 2020. As cloud computing started to become the new normal, so did the cloud waste. In times like today when a pandemic has hit the world hard, there's an urgent need for companies to size its infrastructure and reduce their bills as well as the waste. 

There can be two feasible ways to reduce the amount of this waste:

1. Ensure that the size of the resources you rent from AWS is equal to your operational needs. When you hire resources more than what you need, you have to pay more. Plus, the unused space results in cloud waste.

2. Ensure that your team uses all the resources that you hire. The number of idle resources has to be decreased at all costs.

Become a pro in mastering AWS tools.

AWS cloud tools are available in various cost structures, and in-depth knowledge of the complex price structures can give you an upper hand in reducing your AWS bill. 

Bottomline

The Cloud is a tremendous driver of innovation, thanks to the savings in time and money that it makes, thus leaving more room for experimentation and business. Today, AWS services make it possible to carry out projects for a few dollars, compared to tens of thousands of dollars and a massive investment a few years ago. This technology, therefore, offers a reasonable opportunity to make it possible to present a cost-friendly approach to the company.

It should be kept in mind, however, that the goal is not to design the perfect experience but to make better and sustainable decisions to keep your business running.
Get in touch with our team of experts to know more about the best practices to reduce your AWS bill.