How to Track Cloud Costs in Real-Time Instead of Waiting Days

Dec 15, 2025

Tired of waiting days to see your AWS bill spike? Datadog solved this problem using Apache Iceberg to deliver real-time cloud cost visibility - updating every 15 minutes instead of waiting for billing data.

Here's how it works: They sync real-time resource inventory (EC2 instances, Kubernetes pods) into Iceberg tables, then use Trino to join those snapshots with unit pricing data. The result? FinOps teams can catch cost anomalies before they become budget disasters.

If you're working in FinOps, cloud engineering, or platform teams, this architectural pattern could save your company thousands. Learn how modern data formats are transforming cloud cost management.