Cloud Cost Automation Explained: How These 11 Tools Can Help You Save Big

What is Cloud Cost Automation?

Cloud cost automation refers to the use of automated tools and processes to manage and optimize cloud spending. It involves the implementation of technologies that automatically analyze billing data, track resource utilization, and manage cloud resources in real-time. By automating tasks such as resource provisioning, scaling, and monitoring, organizations can efficiently control their cloud costs without manual intervention. 

Cloud cost optimization can be achieved using cloud cost management tools. These tools track and categorize all cloud-related expenses, attributing them to the respective teams responsible for their consumption. This promotes accountability, encouraging teams to use resources judiciously while discouraging wasteful practices.

Ultimately, by implementing effective cloud cost management strategies and leveraging appropriate tools, organizations can achieve greater financial efficiency and align their cloud spending with business objectives and key results (OKRs). This proactive approach not only safeguards profit margins but also positions organizations for sustainable growth in a dynamic cloud landscape.

The Benefits of Using Cloud Cost Automation Tools for Cloud Cost Management

Utilizing external tools for cloud cost management brings a range of significant advantages that enhance financial efficiency and strategic alignment for organizations leveraging cloud services. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Accurate Forecasting and Budgeting: By analyzing historical data and usage patterns, these tools can predict future costs and help avoid unexpected surges in spending that could disrupt cash flow.

• Empowering Engineering Teams: With access to detailed cost analytics, engineering teams can see the financial impact of their work. This visibility encourages accountability and informed decision-making.

• Insight into Profitability: External tools allow organizations to identify their least profitable technologies, customers, and projects within the cloud. This insight enables data-driven decisions.

• Optimizing Resource Utilization: Cloud cost management tools help organizations assess the effectiveness of load balancing, autoscaling, capacity reservation, and volume discounts. This analysis allows companies to make informed decisions about which services to use for specific use cases. 

What to Consider When Choosing a Cloud Cost Management Tool

Selecting the right cloud cost management tool is essential for optimizing your cloud spending and ensuring operational efficiency. Here are some key factors to consider in more detail:

• Cost Visibility: A robust cloud cost management tool should provide clear and transparent visibility into your cloud costs. It should break down expenses by service, team, project, or other relevant metrics, allowing you to pinpoint where your money is being spent. 
• Cost Optimization Recommendations: Look for a tool that not only tracks costs but also provides actionable recommendations for optimizing spending. This may include insights on rightsizing resources (adjusting resource allocations based on usage patterns), utilizing Reserved Instances, or identifying idle resources that can be decommissioned or downsized. Such recommendations can significantly improve your cost efficiency.
• Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts: Real-time monitoring capabilities allow you to track your cloud spending as it occurs. Choose a tool that offers alerts to notify you of unexpected cost spikes or anomalies. This enables you to take immediate corrective action, ensuring you stay within budget and avoid unnecessary overspending.
• Integration with Multiple Cloud Providers: Your cloud cost management tool should seamlessly integrate with all the cloud providers your organization uses, whether it’s AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or others. This integration ensures a unified view of costs across different cloud services, simplifying management and reporting processes.
• Budgeting and Forecasting: Effective cloud cost management involves setting budgets and forecasting future spending. The tool should facilitate budget creation, allowing you to track projected versus actual costs. This capability helps you manage financial resources more effectively and make informed decisions based on accurate projections.
• Scalability: Ensure the cloud cost management tool can scale with your organization. It should handle increased cloud usage as your business grows and be able to support additional cloud providers. A scalable tool will provide long-term value and adaptability as your cloud strategy evolves.

The Best Cloud Cost Management Tools

• Harness CCM
  Harness Cloud Cost Management is designed to empower engineers and DevOps teams with detailed, real-time visibility into cloud costs.Harness Cloud Cost Management provides comprehensive tools to optimize cloud spending. It allows you to group resources based on business needs for improved cost tracking and classify expenses through cost categories for better allocation. Features like anomaly detection automatically identify unexpected cost spikes, while customizable dashboards offer a clear visualization of spending. 
  The platform also provides recommendations to optimize resource usage and reduce costs, with AutoStopping preventing unnecessary expenses by shutting down idle resources. Additional tools like the Cluster Orchestrator for AWS EKS (beta) and Commitment Orchestrator help manage Kubernetes clusters and maximize savings from reserved instances. Asset governance ensures compliance with resource utilization rules, and budgets help track spending by setting thresholds and receiving alerts when limits are approached.
  Each feature emphasizes CCM’s focus on making cloud cost management accessible and actionable for engineers and DevOps teams.

• AWS Cloud Financial Management Tools
  AWS offers tools like consolidated billing, budgeting, and pricing optimization to help users control cloud costs. AWS Cost Explorer provides detailed cost analysis, while AWS Budgets lets users set spending limits with alerts. Cost Allocation Tags allow for transparent cost assignment to projects or departments. AWS Reserved Instances offer discounted rates for upfront commitments, and Cost Anomaly Detection uses machine learning to flag unusual cost spikes for quick resolution.

• Azure Cost Management + Billing
  Azure’s Cost Management + Billing helps businesses optimize cloud spend by providing visibility and accountability. Users can monitor expenses, set budgets, and receive cost optimization suggestions through the Azure portal. Key features include granular cost analysis, AI-driven anomaly detection, and reserved instance optimization for discounts. Azure’s integration with other tools ensures streamlined resource management.

• Google Cloud Cost Management
  Google Cloud provides cost management tools through its Cloud Console, offering insights into spending via Cloud Billing Reports and Cost Tables. Users can set budgets, receive alerts, and get cost-saving recommendations. Detailed reports break down spending by projects or resources, while reserved instance management simplifies cost predictability. Integration with other Google Cloud tools ensures effective cost control and resource management.

• Spot by NetApp
  Spot by NetApp (formerly Spot.io) is a CloudOps platform that automates the deployment and operation of cloud infrastructure, focusing on cost efficiency and reliability. By leveraging machine learning, Spot continuously analyzes cloud resource usage to identify cost-saving opportunities and automatically scale workloads across various cloud providers. While Spot excels in automating cloud cost control, it does have some limitations, such as the absence of resource scheduling guidelines and real-time pricing details.

• Flexera Cloud Cost Management
  Flexera Cloud Cost Management is ideal for teams seeking enhanced visibility across multi-cloud environments. It offers essential cost management features like cost analysis, reporting, and forecasting, while also supporting cost allocation by cost center and team. The platform provides automatic budget alerts and delivers insights into both private and public cloud environments, helping users track and optimize cloud spend effectively.

• Zesty
  ‍Zesty’s cloud cost management technology allows users to optimize costs by adjusting cloud usage in real time. Initially focused on storage optimization, Zesty has expanded to include commitment discount optimization through its Zesty Commitment Manager, available exclusively for AWS users. This feature automates the buying and selling of AWS Reserved Instances (RIs) based on real-time application needs. Additionally, Zesty Disk optimizes storage costs by dynamically resizing disk capacity to align with actual usage, ensuring efficient resource utilization.

• Turbonomic
  ‍IBM Turbonomic is a cloud automation platform that offers robust cloud optimization features, including cloud cost management. It supports cost management and optimization for traditional on-premises systems, cloud-native applications, and hybrid cloud environments. Turbonomic provides detailed resource usage data, covering compute, databases, containers, network I/O, and reserved instances. Its key strength lies in automating resource scaling to ensure both optimal performance and cost efficiency. Like other tools, Turbonomic Cloud Cost Management helps identify idle resources, extend discount coverage, find rightsizing opportunities, and generate cost-saving recommendations.

• Cast AI
  Cast.ai is a comprehensive Kubernetes management platform with advanced cost management features. It continuously uses AI to monitor your clusters and applies real-time cost optimization changes to ensure they are optimally configured. These automated changes include cluster hibernation, rightsizing, and instant rebalancing. In addition to cost optimization, Cast.ai provides container security monitoring to prevent issues that could lead to unnecessary cloud expenses. The platform integrates seamlessly with Kubernetes services like EKS, AKS, GKE, KoPs, and OpenShift for AWS environments. 

• ProsperOps
  ProsperOps is an automated cloud optimization service that manages AWS and GCP purchase commitments, maximizing savings while minimizing risk. Its algorithms continuously monitor usage and adjust Reserved Instances and Savings Plans without manual intervention, ensuring flexible and cost-efficient operations. Using its Effective Savings Rate (ESR) approach, ProsperOps simplifies cloud cost management, delivering greater savings 24/7. Although it doesn't manage Spot instances, the platform is Spot-aware for seamless integration into your cloud strategy.

• Stacklet
  Stacklet is a cloud governance platform powered by Cloud Custodian, designed to help organizations manage cloud cost, security, and compliance efficiently. It goes beyond identifying governance issues by actively engaging engineering teams with automated workflows that quickly address wasteful resources and risky configurations. With customizable, multi-step remediation workflows, Stacklet ensures that cloud infrastructure is continuously optimized and compliant with organizational policies.
  Stacklet also prevents unnecessary spending and misconfigurations by enforcing policy guardrails across the entire cloud infrastructure lifecycle, from build to runtime. Its AssetDB offers real-time inventory and automated tagging, cutting governance reporting time by 80%, and providing faster insights for cost control and compliance. Built on an open-source foundation, Stacklet provides broad resource and policy coverage across all major cloud providers, giving FinOps and security teams the tools to adapt to evolving business needs.