One of the greatest advantages of using cloud computing is the ability to adjust usage to match changes in demand. Cloud services can be swapped out or scaled down to quickly reduce operational expenditures and help bring some degree of stability to companies during times of unpredictability.
We’ve compiled five cost cost-conscious ways to help you optimise your cloud costs so you can be confident that you’re getting value with every cent spent.
Tip 1: Use preemptive VMs for resumable compute jobs
Preemptible VMs are highly affordable, short-lived compute instances suitable for batch jobs and fault-tolerant workloads. They are up to 80% cheaper than regular instances. Pricing is fixed so you will always get low cost and financial predictability, without taking the risk of gambling on variable market pricing.
Tip 2: Make use of Google managed services
Managed services, such as Google Cloud Storage, Google BigQuery and Google AppEngine, come with simple per-usage costs. When you use these services, you don't have to individually pay for virtual machines, software licenses, hardware maintenance, or space in a data centre. Using these services takes much of the guesswork out of pricing and setting up your environments.
Tip 3: Make sure your dev/QA/staging environments add value
One of the easiest ways to spend unnecessarily on your cloud is by having multiple environments that aren't being used. If you have environments that are only occasionally used, shut them down or spin them up with Cloud Deployment manager only when needed.
Tip 4: Restrict IAM of resource creation to those who need it
One of the easiest ways to limit unnecessary cloud use is to limit unnecessary cloud users. Limiting the number of users who are able to spin up new instances and increase your cloud demand is a good way to control operational expenditures.
Tip 5: Make use of Autoscaling and load balancing where possible
Autoscaling your AppEngine, Kubernetes or Compute instances lets your apps gracefully handle increases in traffic, and it reduces cost when the need for resources is lower. Be sure to set a max though!
