tsh-optimizing-cloud-cost

name	tsh-optimizing-cloud-cost
description	Optimize cloud costs through resource rightsizing, tagging strategies, reserved instances, and spending analysis. Use when reducing cloud expenses, analyzing infrastructure costs, or implementing cost governance policies.
user-invocable	false

Cloud Cost Optimization

When to Use

• Reducing cloud spending or meeting budget constraints
• Right-sizing resources based on utilization
• Implementing cost governance and tagging
• Analyzing multi-cloud cost optimization opportunities

Pricing Model Decision

Workload Type	AWS	Azure	GCP	Savings
Steady-state (24/7)	Reserved Instances / Savings Plans	Reserved VMs	Committed Use	30-72%
Variable / burst	On-Demand + Auto-scaling	Pay-as-you-go	On-Demand	Baseline
Fault-tolerant batch	Spot Instances	Spot VMs	Preemptible	Up to 90%
Serverless / event-driven	Lambda	Functions	Cloud Functions	Pay-per-use

Storage Tiering Decision

Data Access Pattern	AWS	Azure	GCP
Frequent (hot)	S3 Standard	Hot	Standard
Infrequent (30+ days)	S3 Standard-IA	Cool	Nearline
Rare (90+ days)	S3 Glacier	Cold	Coldline
Archive (365+ days)	S3 Deep Archive	Archive	Archive

Rule: Implement lifecycle policies to auto-transition data between tiers.

Required Tags

Tag	Purpose	Example
Environment	Cost allocation by env	production, staging
Project	Cost allocation by project	my-project
CostCenter	Finance reporting	engineering
Owner	Contact for unused resources	[e-mail]
ManagedBy	Track IaC vs manual	terraform

Reference: See references/tagging-standards.md for full standards.

Process

1. Audit current spend → Use Cost Explorer / Cost Management to identify top costs
2. Tag all resources → Apply required tags for cost allocation
3. Identify waste → Find unused EBS, EIPs, snapshots, idle instances
4. Right-size resources → Use Compute Optimizer / Advisor recommendations
5. Apply pricing models → Reserved/Committed for steady, Spot for batch
6. Implement tiering → Storage lifecycle policies, database right-sizing
7. Set up alerts → Budget alerts at 50%, 80%, 100% thresholds
8. Schedule reviews → Weekly cost review, monthly optimization

Checklist

• Cost allocation tags applied to all resources
• Unused resources deleted (EBS, EIPs, snapshots, idle instances)
• Instances right-sized based on utilization metrics
• Reserved capacity purchased for steady workloads (>70% utilization)
• Spot/preemptible used for fault-tolerant workloads
• Storage lifecycle policies configured
• Budget alerts enabled (50%, 80%, 100%)
• Cost anomaly detection enabled
• Auto-scaling configured for variable workloads

Anti-Patterns

❌ Don't	✅ Do
Over-provision "just in case"	Right-size based on metrics, scale up if needed
Use On-Demand for steady workloads	Use Reserved/Committed for predictable usage
Store all data in hot tier	Implement lifecycle policies
Skip tagging	Tag everything for cost visibility
Review costs monthly	Review weekly, alert on anomalies

Tools

Provider	Tools
AWS	Cost Explorer, Cost Anomaly Detection, Compute Optimizer
Azure	Cost Management, Advisor
GCP	Cost Management, Recommender
Multi-cloud	CloudHealth, Cloudability, Kubecost

Reference Files

• references/tagging-standards.md - Tagging conventions and enforcement

Related Skills

• tsh-implementing-terraform-modules - For resource provisioning
• tsh-designing-multi-cloud-architecture - For cloud selection