FinOps in Industry: How to Lower Your AWS/Azure Bill by 30% Without Turning Off Servers
FinOps consulting Mexico
It’s the classic story in the industrial corridor of Veracruz and Coatzacoalcos: Two years ago, the IT department convinced the Finance Directorate to migrate physical servers to the cloud (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud). They promised agility and savings.
Today, the CFO receives the monthly bill and puts their head in their hands. The cost not only didn’t go down, but it is three times higher than when they had servers on-site.
What happened?
A strategic error known as “Lift & Shift” occurred. They moved their servers exactly as they were (with their vices and over-provisioning) to the cloud. They treated the cloud like a rented Data Center, not an elastic service.
In the petrochemical and logistics industry, where margins are watched down to the penny, having IT infrastructure that bleeds money is unacceptable.
This is where FinOps comes in.
According to what is FinOps and its principles, it is not just about spending less, but about getting the maximum value from every dollar spent. At Koud, we offer FinOps consulting Mexico specialized in industrial environments to transform your cloud from a “bottomless pit” into a profitable competitive advantage.
Common Errors in the Industrial Cloud (The Invisible Waste)
Cloud waste is silent but lethal. Our auditors usually find these patterns in industrial plants:
1. The “Always On” Syndrome
You have a powerful server dedicated to processing customs reports. That process runs from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM. However, the server is on and charging 24 hours a day. You are paying for 22 hours of air.
- FinOps Solution: Serverless Architecture or automatic on/off scheduling.
2. Zombie Resources
Hard drive (EBS Snapshots) backups from 3 years ago that no one needs. Unassigned static IP addresses. Load balancers pointing nowhere. These are “zombies” that keep eating budget month after month.
3. Oversized Instances
Your team asked for a server with 64GB of RAM “just in case,” but monitoring shows the application never uses more than 8GB. You are paying for a Ferrari to go to the corner store.
The Koud FinOps Audit: Engineering, Not Reselling
Many “cost optimizers” in the market are actually cloud resellers. Their business model is earning a commission on what you spend. They have a conflict of interest: if you save a lot, they earn less.
At Koud, we are software architects, not license salespeople.
Our audit methodology goes to the root of the problem: The Code.
- Computational Efficiency: Poorly written code (“spaghetti code”) needs more CPU to run. By refactoring and optimizing the code of your critical applications, we reduce the need for powerful hardware.
- Modernization: We migrate expensive databases (like SQL Server Enterprise) to managed Open Source or Serverless options (like Aurora or Azure SQL) that cost a fraction and scale better.
Our Promise: Often, our fees pay for themselves with the savings from the first quarter.
Success Case: Port Logistics
We worked with a logistics operator in the Port of Veracruz processing terabytes of security video and container data.
- Before: They used “On-Demand” instances (full price) 24 hours a day.
- Koud Strategy: We identified that video processing was not urgent in real-time. We migrated that workload to Spot Instances (spare AWS servers costing up to 90% less) that activated only at night.
- Result: Monthly bill reduction of $5,000 USD. That money was reinvested in hiring more developers to improve their mobile App.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to switch cloud providers to save?
No. FinOps applies to your current provider (AWS, Azure, Google). We rarely recommend migrating from one cloud to another just for price, as the cost of migration usually eats up the savings. We optimize where you already are.
What are Reserved Instances and Savings Plans?
They are contracts where you commit to using a certain amount of computing for 1 or 3 years in exchange for a massive discount (up to 72%). Koud analyzes your historical consumption patterns to tell you exactly how much to reserve without risk of being wrong.
Is FinOps only for large companies?
If your cloud bill exceeds $1,000 – $2,000 USD per month, you already need FinOps. The percentage waste is usually higher in medium-sized companies that don’t have a dedicated architect watching costs.
Conclusion
The cloud must be elastic in both performance and cost. If your bill is a flat, high line, you are losing money.
In the Veracruz industry, efficiency is the key to survival. Don’t let your digital infrastructure eat up the profits of your physical plant.
Do you need an architect who speaks the CFO’s language?
At Koud, we make technology profitable.
