| 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 | team@example.com |
ManagedBy | Track IaC vs manual | terraform |
Reference: See references/tagging-standards.md for full standards.
Process
- Audit current spend → Use Cost Explorer / Cost Management to identify top costs
- Tag all resources → Apply required tags for cost allocation
- Identify waste → Find unused EBS, EIPs, snapshots, idle instances
- Right-size resources → Use Compute Optimizer / Advisor recommendations
- Apply pricing models → Reserved/Committed for steady, Spot for batch
- Implement tiering → Storage lifecycle policies, database right-sizing
- Set up alerts → Budget alerts at 50%, 80%, 100% thresholds
- Schedule reviews → Weekly cost review, monthly optimization
Checklist
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 provisioningtsh-designing-multi-cloud-architecture - For cloud selection
