10 Ways to Save on your AWS: How To Save Money On Your AWS Cloud Bill

AWS (Amazon Web Services) dominates the cloud computing market with over 40% market share in APAC, outshining its competitors including Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and IBM. With an array of computing products and services like servers, networking, storage, remote computing, mobile development, email, and security, AWS has got you covered. But let's talk about the challenges, shall we? One of the biggest hurdles when it comes to AWS is managing cloud costs, and the one service that tests your cost management skills is none other than AWS Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).

Alright, let's dive into the EC2 world. It's a secure and resizable cloud platform, delivering compute capacity. Instances are the building blocks of computing, and EC2 offers 5 types to suit your needs:

• General-purpose instances: Perfect for gaming, applications, and back-end servers.

• Compute-optimised instances: Powerhouses for high-computing applications like scientific modeling and machine learning.

• Memory-optimised instances: Ideal for handling large datasets with aplomb.

• Accelerated computing instances: Harnessing hardware accelerators to supercharge data processing for graphics and streaming.

• Storage-optimised instances: When you have mammoth datasets on local storage, this is your go-to option.

Now, here's the real challenge with EC2 - scalability. Managing budgets can be straightforward with a dedicated instance, but things get trickier once you start scaling your application. It's time to tighten the reins on your budgets and keep a close watch. Here are three AWS services that are easier to predict costs and manage budgets:

1. Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS): This service simplifies the setup, operation, and scaling of databases in the cloud. With various instance classes like general-purpose, memory-optimised, and burstable performance, you can choose the right mix of resources for your database needs.

2. Amazon Glacier: Secure, flexible, and affordable cloud storage for data caching and long-term backups. Store your data for as low as $1 per terabyte per month.

3. Amazon S3: Provides a secure storage system with data redundancy across three different physical zones. Perfect for storing and protecting large amounts of data, such as website files, application data, and backups.

Now, let's move on to money-saving strategies in AWS. We'll share 10 tips to help you reduce AWS costs for your company.

1. Right-size instances and volumes: Analyze your data over an extended period, considering seasonal changes, to determine the appropriate size for instances and volumes. Create new volumes and migrate data to optimise costs.

2. Terminate unused EC2 instances: Use AWS Cost Explorer Resource Optimization to identify idle or low-utilization instances, then stop and terminate them to avoid unnecessary expenses.

3. Opt for private IPs: Communicating within Amazon EC2 network using private IPs instead of public IPs or elastic load balancers can help you avoid additional costs for intra-region data transfer.

4. Delete low-usage Amazon EBS volumes: Track Elastic Block Storage (EBS) volumes for at least 1 week and identify those that have low activity (at least 1 input/output per second per day). Take a snapshot of these volumes (in case you will need them at a future date) and then delete them.

5. Configure autoscaling: Autoscaling allows your EC2 fleet to dynamically increase or shrink based on demand. By configuring autoscaling, you can start and stop instances that are not frequently used, optimizing resource utilization. Use the CLI command to review your scaling activity and fine-tune the scaling settings to match your requirements.

6. Utilize Reserved Instances: By reserving an instance, you can save up to 70% on costs. However, be cautious and plan accordingly, as you will be paying for the reserved instance 24/7 throughout the entire reserved period, regardless of whether you utilize the resource or not.

7. Use AWS Savings Plan: AWS Savings Plan offers a flexible pricing model that runs for one to three years. By committing to a steady amount of usage during this period, you can enjoy lower prices on EC2 and Fargate usage. It's a great option for stable businesses that have a good understanding of their resource requirements.

8. Utilize Amazon EC2 Spot Instances: Spot instances can significantly reduce costs by up to 90%. They are especially suitable for fault-tolerant workloads such as big data, web servers, containerized workloads, and high-performance computing (HPC). With auto-scaling, spot instances can be automatically requested to meet your target capacity during interruptions.

9. Buy reserved instances on the AWS marketplace: The AWS Marketplace is like a stock market, and sometimes you can find Standard Reserved Instances at incredibly affordable prices compared to buying directly from AWS. Utilizing the marketplace can help you save almost 75% on costs.

10. Choose availability zones and regions wisely: AWS costs vary by region, and data transfers between different availability zones are charged an additional fee. Consider centralizing your operations and using a single availability zone to reduce costs.

Remember, cost optimization in AWS requires persistence and expertise. It's an ongoing process, but with the right strategies, you can effectively monitor and manage your AWS spending. You don't have to embark on a solitary quest to find the perfect budget management strategies. Morfless presents a cutting-edge platform that completely automates the entire savings process, freeing up precious time for you and your team to dedicate to scaling your business. Let's make managing budgets a breeze.