Cloud-native applications continue to evolve and grow in complexity. And that complexity hurts the most when managing Kubernetes costs in Azure. AKS cost optimization may seem obvious, but it might also seem difficult to achieve. Microsoft’s fully managed Kubernetes service can help you run, manage, and deploy containerized applications. And while it optimizes performance, it can cause unexpected costs when improperly managed.

Understanding costs is an essential part of service ownership. But in cloud-based applications, the cost of any given service often comes down to a wide range of dynamic factors. Individual services can incur fees from numerous dependencies, from data stores to observability solutions, and keeping track of these expenses can mean reckoning with the intricacies of many different billing models.

Cloud budgeting just got easier on the Anodot platform. Our budget monitoring tool has transformed to make tracking finances in the cloud seamless, customizable, and, above all, easy.

In this blog series we’ve been examining the Five Myths of Apache Spark Optimization. The fourth myth we’re considering relates to a common misunderstanding held by many Spark practitioners: Spark application tuning can eliminate all of the waste in my applications. Let’s dive into it.

CloudBolt helps optimize cloud usage by offering robust automation and cloud cost management features. Still, some organizations may find it lacks the features and integration they need. Also, its pricing structure might only be suitable for some budgets, leading businesses to consider other solutions in the market. So, what are the best Cloudbolt alternatives?

As FinOps programs scale — particularly within larger enterprise organizations — it becomes increasingly important for different roles within the organization to have access to different sets of data to make informed, proactive decisions related to their specific areas of responsibility.

Developing an AWS tagging strategy can feel like wrangling different cooks in the same kitchen. Engineers want to innovate, fix issues, and improve existing code. Finance wants to know if the company is making a healthy return on technology investments. Yet, the cloud is like a menu without the pricing. In their quest for continuous improvement, engineers can innovate without slowing down. And this can consume more computing resources than expected, leading to a surprise AWS bill.

The FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS) 1.0 was officially launched on June 20, 2024, marking a revolutionary shift in Cloud Cost Management (CCM). Long awaited by MSPs and FinOps, this framework now aligns data sharing among vendors, FinOps tools, and users in a simple manner. It’s an exciting new era for shaking up business strategies in cloud cost analysis. But let’s take a step back and refocus on what FOCUS 1.0 is.

Cloud computing offers several undeniable benefits to businesses. Some of the biggest ones are agility, cost savings, data recovery, and developing new apps and services to meet changing customer needs. Despite these benefits, the cloud can be complex, demand specialized skills, and require companies to follow up-to-date cloud security best practices. Why is that a problem? A 2020 report shows that 68% of companies cited misconfiguration as their biggest cloud architecture challenge going into 2021.

Like any business, management service provider firms are always looking for ways to reduce MSP costs and improve profits. MSPs provide critical services to their clients, so finding ways to cut costs without cutting corners is essential. You’ve probably heard all the standard advice on cutting costs: review your pricing, renegotiate contracts, cut unnecessary expenses, and so on. But what about MSPs who are already doing all those things and are still looking for ways to save?