What are the best ways to manage cloud costs in regulated industries like healthcare and finance?

It has been noticed that we normally know the cloud behaviour and the purpose of the cloud, while we do not fully utilize the cloud services and features which can bring the cost down. It is important to know your business and accordingly choose and design the solution using the cloud based native services.

Below are 5 steps to get handle on cloud cost: Understanding your Cost : Every cloud provider offers different plans and tiers so having good understanding of cost for every cloud service is the 1st step for optimizing resource utilization and cost. Implement Cost Monitoring Tools: Utilize cloud cost management tools and platforms to monitor usage, track expenses, and identify areas of overspending or inefficiency. Set Budget Limits: Establish clear budget limits and thresholds for cloud spending, ensuring that costs remain within approved levels. Implement Automated Scaling: Utilize auto-scaling features to automatically adjust resources based on demand, ensuring optimal performance while minimizing unnecessary costs.

Understand your cloud usage: Gain visibility into your cloud usage patterns, resource consumption, and associated costs. Utilize cloud monitoring tools and analytics to track usage trends, identify inefficiencies, and make informed decisions about resource allocation.

In regulated industries such as healthcare and finance, managing cloud costs effectively is crucial. One approach is to regularly review usage and adjust resources accordingly to optimize spending. Implementing cost monitoring tools and setting up budget alerts can help maintain control over expenses. Additionally, leveraging reserved instances or spot instances where possible can lead to significant cost savings.

Implement cloud governance: Establish robust governance policies and controls to enforce compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, implementing access controls, and setting up auditing mechanisms to ensure accountability and traceability of cloud usage.

Optimize cloud performance: Fine-tune your cloud infrastructure and applications for performance and efficiency. This may involve rightsizing resources, optimizing configurations, and employing performance monitoring and tuning techniques to maximize value while minimizing costs.

Cut down on your cloud cost is not practical and possible without using the cloud native services. It is highly recommended and proved fact. If you are new to cloud and using in IAAS or PAAS while not using the SAAS and other cloud based native features, then it will not impact on your cost much. Hence start using public cloud native services for better performance, scalability stability with minimum cost

Leverage cloud-native features: Take advantage of cloud-native features and services designed to optimize costs and improve efficiency. This includes utilizing serverless computing, managed databases, and auto-scaling capabilities to dynamically adjust resources based on demand, thereby reducing overhead and waste.

All this is possible with a few clicks in a PaaS environment with minimal programming effort. PaaS solutions can also make your environments highly redundant to protect against hardware failures. Most PaaS solutions can offer triple redundancy by supplying your production environment with three versions of your app deployed across cloud regions. If one region crashes, the other two can pick up user requests during the downtime

Automate cloud operations: Automate routine tasks and workflows to streamline operations and eliminate manual errors. Use cloud orchestration and automation tools to provision, configure, and manage resources programmatically, enabling agility and reducing operational overhead.

Learn from cloud experts: Tap into the expertise of cloud professionals and industry peers to stay informed about best practices and emerging trends. Participate in online forums, attend conferences, and engage with cloud communities to exchange insights, learn from experiences, and stay ahead of regulatory changes and technological advancements.

Offers off-the-shelf convenience and ease of use. Provides flexibility due to access across devices and geographies. As a subscription-based model, it allows for budgeting and planning ahead. Self-provisioning (ability to add users as needed). No maintenance or installation requirements. You don’t pay for the hardware that runs the application. You don’t need to worry about maintenance or licensing fees. Nothing to install and no support wo

Here’s what else to consider: In addition to the above strategies, consider factors such as data residency requirements, encryption standards, and compliance certifications specific to regulated industries. Collaborate closely with compliance and security teams to ensure alignment with industry regulations and standards while optimizing cloud costs effectively. Regularly review and adjust your cloud cost management strategies to adapt to evolving business needs and regulatory landscape.