What Platform Engineering Can Do to Help Control Cloud Costs
Imagine yourself trapped in a
never-ending cycle of cloud expenses that, despite your efforts, just keep
mounting. You're with some nice folks. The majority of firms are in a perpetual
cycle of using the same audits and quick-fix products. But let's face it—that's
just applying a Band-Aid to a surgically fixable issue.
We all understand the importance
of audits and short evaluations; think of them as the regular checkups we need
to stay healthy. But those examinations are insufficient when it comes to cloud
charges. They may identify the immediate issues, but they hardly ever look
further to identify the underlying causes. It's time to consider the long term.
Why not prevent fires from
starting in the first place rather than just putting them out? Focusing on
creating an effective system from the ground up is a more sustainable way to
control cloud costs. It's not about finding quick remedies here; rather,
it's about building a solid foundation that avoids problems in the future.
Happy news Platform engineers have the chance to assist you in doing just that as the book's pages are being written. Consider creating a new toolbox for better, more effective cloud management. Your team has access to advanced tools with platform engineering that go beyond repairing gaps. They assist you in planning a well-considered path through the perplexing world of cloud costs.
Solution-Seeking Efforts and Reactive Methods
Specialized centralized teams or
"war rooms" are frequently established to manage this process the
moment the cloud cost alarm bells start to sound. These teams carefully examine
cost records to identify the departments that are overspending their budgets
and then advise them to do so. Here's how it usually works:
By audits:
To detect areas of wasteful spending, rely on audits. For the purpose of understanding and possibly optimizing cloud costs, continuous audit cycles are used. It's frequently viewed as an endless procedure.
Manual oversight:
The centralized team is in charge of carefully examining the cost dashboards, identifying the teams in charge of different infrastructure components, and notifying them to take the necessary remedial action.
Project tracker:
To keep
all stakeholders informed and to keep track of the cost-cutting actions, a
project tracker is constructed.
Tools and anomaly detection:
Specialized tools are used, some of which even allow automated operations, to
provide greater analysis and anomaly detection capabilities.
Ops team responsibility:
Cost
management is typically the job of the operations team, but they are frequently
understaffed and already swamped with other important activities.
The issue? All of these actions
are laborious and more reactive than proactive. Instead of designing a system
that is cost-effective from the beginning, they concentrate on reducing current
costs, a strategy known as "cutting the fat." As a result, the
strategy is more focused on making quick gains than long-term sustainability.
Further, Ops teams by themselves
are limited in their ability to advance optimizations in the realm of
cloud-native apps. Long-term gains come from service and architectural
improvements made by application developers. But the current system isn't broad
enough.
How then can we stop this cycle?
by reorienting the priority from short-term cost reduction to long-term
financial stability. That entails implementing tactics that don't just address
issues as they arise but also work to prevent them from occurring in the first
place.
The cornerstone of platform engineering
Platform engineering can help
with this. The platform engineering team is in charge of laying out the road
not only for developers to own their expenses but also for costs to be
naturally under control. The following are some ways that platform engineering
helps to maintain cloud costs:
Sharing accountability and responsibility:
Platform engineers must relinquish cost ownership control
and focus instead on developing a collaborative environment for developers to
share ownership.
Construction of cost-effective golden paths:
The platform engineering team's first task is to set up
golden paths that were designed from the beginning to be cost-effective.
Developers can explore and construct on this, but cost control is a
requirement, not a nice to have.
Providing cost breakdowns that
are understandable to developers: The platform provides the tools necessary for
developers to view expenses broken down in their own language. Each development
team should be able to see only the costs associated with the resources they
are directly managing thanks to the platform's zoomed-in view, which should be
available. Teams can narrow in on costs unique to their particular projects or
services with the support of this emphasis.
Providing intelligent cost correlation:
Knowing the "what" and the "why" of the expenses is equally
important. The framework makes it possible for developers to link expenses to
specific runtime indicators like "utilization" or business metrics
like "the number of transactions," enabling developers to make more
informed decisions.
Giving budgets a home:
Budgeting shouldn't resemble a wire walk. Teams can use the platform to set up
financial boundaries for various resources and activities. Consider yourself
warned or even restricted if you're about to go over budget in order to keep
expenses in check.
Ability to stop leaks:
Underused or unused resources harm budgets covertly. The platform should be
built to stop these alleged "leakages" earlier in the software
development life cycle and stop them from further consuming your cash.
Platform engineering essentially
seeks to establish a mutually beneficial partnership between developers and
their cloud environment. It's not only about giving developers more power; it's
also about teaching them to be responsible resource managers. It also
establishes clear principles for how to handle both in an efficient manner,
fostering a culture where developer freedom and cost-effectiveness can coexist.
developer obligations
Treating cost as an afterthought
won't do in a world where platform engineering rules. Cost needs to be given
the VIP treatment of a "first-class citizen" position in developers'
sprints, right next to other major actors like availability and performance.
Own your rental property:
Ownership of cloud infrastructure, including services and resources, is not
just a duty but also a requirement. With ownership comes the requirement for
ongoing watchfulness: developers must constantly keep an eye on costs and
resource usage.
Budget mastery:
Following
the guidelines in a coloring book is simple; following them while creating a
budget is difficult. While making sure cost-optimization activities don't get
put on the back burner during sprints, developers must adhere to the budget
frameworks established by the platform engineering team.
Harmony in business metrics:
It is advantageous to translate cloud expenses into commercial terms.
Developers ought to match their resource usage measurements to observable
business results. Do you need to know how much one company procedure or
transaction will cost you? That level of clarity is what this alignment may
provide.
Resource optimization:
Optimize your use
of resources by preventing resource "floods" from occurring. To
identify and fix these leaks and fine-tune the entire resource environment for
optimum efficiency, developers need to break down the attributed cost.
Innovation:
Many
cost-optimization projects include modifying the architecture and performance
of your services, which can produce amazing outcomes.
Keep the conversation going:
A successful collaboration with the platform engineering team requires regular
communication. In order to continuously improve the tools, measurements, and
best practices for sustainable cloud management, developers should maintain
open channels of communication.
Developers who take on these
duties aren't simply making life easier for the operations team; they're also
assuming the role of co-pilots in navigating the cloud cost terrain. A
collaborative effort is being made to create a cloud that is leaner and more
effective without sacrificing capabilities or performance.
Source: Nutshell
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