How do you avoid hidden fees in cloud project budgets?

??When estimating the cloud project budget, it is essential to understand the pricing model of resources and project goals. ????During the estimate, there are some minute aspects we may overlook. For instance, when estimating the storage cost, ingress and egress, security settings, and nature of applications relating to the storage contribute to the cloud bill. If it is not identified, actuals will override estimates. ???Rserved instances are always recommended; check the negotiated price and variance from reserve instances before deciding on a reserve. If it is marginal, defer from the reserve as we have the flexibility with no commitments. ??Consider the nonfunctional requirements of the project.

Keep an eye on what you're using to avoid surprise costs in cloud projects. Use tools like CloudWatch or Cloudability to ensure you're not paying for unused resources. Optimize what you have; tools like AWS Trusted Advisor can point out waste like idle computing power. Pick the right payment plan for your needs. Each has pros and cons depending on how you use the cloud. Lastly, read the terms and conditions very carefully. Know the costs for everything, including data transfer and security. This way, you'll know what you're in for and avoid hidden fees.

Organizations are concerned on surprise element of cloud monthly costing. So here's my recos: > Identify static and variable cost components in solution. E.g:compute requirements can be calculated by historic data (take 90% mean) which becomes your static cost component and your traffic becomes a variable cost component. -> Static components should then have a workflow/policy assigned so they only scale once there is a business approval/budget assigned. This takes out surprise cost changes from majority of solution components. -> Variable components - this requires first creating a budget estimate based on historic data and continuous monitoring. When approaching budget then business decision like shutting down non-prod env can be taken.

Understand pricing models, use cost estimation tools, monitor resource usage, employ cost allocation tags, set budget alerts, optimize resources, consider reserved instances, manage data transfer costs, explore third-party tools, promote cost-consciousness, stay updated on provider changes, and consider a multi-cloud approach to avoid hidden cloud project budget fees. These solutions ensure cloud expenditure transparency and management.

Key Cost Management: Discounts: Understand cloud providers' options (e.g., reserved instances, spot instances). Free Tiers: Utilize providers' free tiers for platform familiarization. Start Small: Initiate with a small deployment to assess actual costs. Cost Estimation: Use initial data for larger deployment budgeting. Current Cost Analysis: Monitor expenses, identifying eligible discounts. Resource Discounts: For unpredictable workloads, explore CPU and region-specific discounts. Beware of "Hidden Fees": Starting small reveals costs like egress and overprovisioning. Continuous Optimization: Regularly review cloud infrastructure and pricing to adapt to evolving organization needs.

By addressing shadow IT and adopting effective lifecycle management practices, organizations can optimize cloud spending and minimize hidden fees in their cloud project budgets, ensuring financial efficiency and accountability throughout the cloud service lifecycle. Shadow IT, the use of unauthorized IT resources, leads to duplicate services, inefficient usage, and hidden costs. Organizations must prioritize lifecycle management, which includes proactive planning, efficient resource provisioning, continuous monitoring, cost allocation, and regular optimization. Ownership and accountability at departmental and central levels are essential. Hidden fees often result from cost overruns, unforeseen expenses, and compliance issues.

Unlock cloud savings through vigilant monitoring using native tools or a solution with a single pane across multiple cloud environments. Regularly assess your cloud usage and performance to right-size resources. For instance, in an IaaS environment, if you notice an underutilized CPU during off-peak times, make adjustments to optimize cost efficiency.

?? Monitoring cloud usage and performance is crucial for optimizing your cloud resources. Use cloud-native tools or third-party solutions to track resource utilization, network performance, and application behavior. Set up alerts to proactively detect issues, and regularly review monitoring data to identify opportunities for cost savings and performance improvements. This ongoing monitoring and optimization process ensures that your cloud infrastructure remains efficient, secure, and cost-effective.

Every cloud platform has their own Cloud budget service that monitors all the usage costs and we can always set alerts when certain services reach threshold. Often there could also be unused applications those are still running on dev or stage applications and such environments could be monitored bi-weekly or monthly to confirm further usage of them. Lastly, keeping an eye on Burst-Threshold, even after reaching the limit, every cloud service could allow some buffer to get consumed, so check out the rates for CPU, memory etc.., at those levels.

Upskill on native tooling of cloudprovider to stay upto date on pricing. In AWS you have cost explorer where options to split bills per service, also options to forecast the billing prediction. As an precaution you can set alerts for billing thershold to ensure your pockets are not burnt

Have clear vision what you need and what good to have. In cloud there is cost for each and every components. Eg: In AWS for WAF they charge per rules. if your website it backed by S3 there is no need of having rules protecting windows cmd injections. You might need them in future if decided to use windows based instances. Always have clear list what you need and what good to have and always stick to what needed for today

Trim down cloud costs with robust and scalable architecture design. Think auto-scaling for resource efficiency in IaaS, serverless for streamlined PaaS, and multi-cloud strategies for flexibility. It's like customizing a car – pick the right features, and you'll cruise past hidden costs or lock-ins that are expensive to replace

?? Optimizing cloud architecture involves continuously refining the structure and components of your cloud infrastructure to enhance performance, reduce costs, and improve security. Start by assessing your workloads, choosing the right cloud services, and implementing automation for resource management. Monitor performance, regularly review and adjust the architecture, and prioritize security measures. Utilize cloud-native tools and practices, such as tagging resources, load balancing, and serverless computing. Document your architecture, encourage feedback, and establish disaster recovery plans for resilience. Effective optimization ensures that your cloud environment aligns with your business objectives and stays efficient over time.

Have a clear understanding of compliance requirements, such as data residency, and bake them into your architecture design and buildout plan. Neglecting compliance planning can result in expensive migrations and disrupt previously well-optimized systems.

In my opinion selecting the efficient Architecture is key for Cloud projects success and helpful in cost optimization. Recently Prime video changed their architecture for cost optimized solution. When enterprises are planning to shift applications to Cloud at that time architect plays key role for selecting the best solution which is cost efficient as well as optimum for Business users or customers. A lot of analytical thinking is required for producing this type of solution. Also, continuous monitoring & tweaking is needed to achieve the desired state.

Dig into your cloud contracts and invoices like a detective solving a mystery. Look out for hidden fees, like unexpected data transfer charges or unexplained storage extras. Make sure your actual usage aligns with your budgeted expectations. If you spot any discrepancies or surprises, don't hesitate to reach out to your cloud provider for clarification or negotiation. Just like scrutinizing a restaurant bill, it's all about ensuring you get what you're paying for. This will also give you the opportunity to understand your workloads and continuously optimize them, even if the invoices have no errors/anomalies, you can continue to trim and optimize.

?Regularly reviewing cloud contracts and invoices is essential to manage costs and ensure alignment with your cloud usage. Start by carefully examining the terms and pricing structures in your contracts to understand your commitments and potential overages. Scrutinize invoices for accuracy and compare them against your actual resource usage. Identify any discrepancies or unexpected charges. Implement cost controls and optimizations based on the insights gained from these reviews. Additionally, consider renegotiating contracts or exploring alternative pricing models to maximize cost savings. Periodic reviews of cloud contracts and invoices are essential for cost-effective and efficient cloud management.

Engaging with cloud provider representatives in regular meetings is crucial for optimal cloud cost management. Building a collaborative relationship ensures providers recognize the mutual benefits of assisting with cost optimization. It's not just transactional; it’s about forging a lasting partnership. As you scale, they become integral in helping you navigate cloud pricing intricacies. By closely examining contracts and invoices together, hidden or excessive charges are minimized, leading to fiscal efficiency for you and a sustained relationship for them. These collaborative efforts result in a win-win scenario: while you achieve fiscal efficiency, they secure a loyal client.

Tag your cloud resources and services clearly, to avoid ambiguity and confusion. Also, well architect your cloud environment for ease of following through.

Have a well defined long term application strategy: The reason of existence for cloud resources and thus associated costs are the applications themselves. If the application architecture and strategy is not well thought out then it will lead to unnecessary spend. Right sizing according to application requirements should be one of the key aspects of cloud fin ops

??Continuously monitor and track your cloud spending against budgetary constraints. Set up alerts for unusual or unexpected charges to detect and address issues promptly. ??Regularly assess your resource utilization and performance metrics. Identify underutilized or idle resources and consider scaling down or terminating them to reduce costs. ??Review your cloud contract renewal dates and terms well in advance to evaluate whether they align with your evolving business needs. Explore opportunities for renegotiation or adjustments to better suit your requirements. ??Leverage cloud cost management tools and dashboards provided by your cloud provider to gain insights into your spending patterns.

Transitioning to the cloud alters financial dynamics from CapEx to OpEx. This shift necessitates a holistic effort across all departments, ensuring that cost management remains a collective priority. Just as in cloud security, where security teams transition from mere gatekeepers to active enablers, managing cloud costs demands a unified approach. Every department must play its part, collaborating to optimize costs while ensuring both efficiency and security within the cloud environment. The FinOps Foundation is a great place to start.