Marc H.,
Too Long; Didn't Read
$44.5 billion cloud waste - globally, 2025. That's not the cost. That's the portion that is wasted. 84% of companies struggle with managing cloud costs. Only 30% can accurately say what they are paying for. The problem isn't technical - it's visibility. So is the solution: FinOps principles can save 25-40%. But first, you need to see where the money is going.
History Repeats Itself
Last week I had a conversation I've had a hundred times before.
CFO of a medium-sized company. 150 employees, manufacturing industry. Cloud bill from AWS and Azure together: CHF 28,000 per month. Two years ago, it was CHF 12,000.
His question: "Can you explain what we are paying for?"
My counter-question: "Can you explain it to me?"
Silence.
This is not an exception. This is the rule.
The Numbers No One Wants to Hear
84% of companies say: Cloud cost management is their biggest cloud challenge.
(Flexera State of the Cloud 2025)
Not security. Not performance. Not compliance. Costs.
And it gets worse:
$44.5 billion in cloud waste predicted for 2025. Globally. Just in infrastructure.
These are not the total costs. This is the portion that gets wasted. Idle VMs. Oversized instances. Forgotten snapshots. Resources no one needs anymore, but everyone still pays for.
27-32% of cloud budgets are wasted.
For every CHF 100,000 you spend on the cloud, CHF 27,000 to 32,000 disappears into thin air.
Why No One Knows What They Are Paying For
This is where it gets interesting.
Only 30% of companies can accurately allocate their cloud costs.
That means: 70% have no idea which team, project, or application costs what.
The bill comes. It gets paid. No one asks why.
54% of cloud waste is due to a lack of cost transparency.
It's no surprise. If you can't see what you consume, you won't optimize it. Why would you? You don't even know there's a problem.
The Usual Suspects
When we analyze cloud costs, we always find the same patterns. Always.
Dev/Test Environments That Never Sleep
A developer needs a test environment. Makes sense. He provisions it with the same specs as production. Makes less sense, but understandable. The environment runs 24/7. Even on weekends. Even at night. Even during vacations.
No automatic scheduling set up. No one thought of it.
At one client: 40% of dev/test costs were for hours when no one was working.
Snapshots That Pile Up
Backups are important. So, snapshots are created. Daily. For every server. Every service. Every database.
The snapshot policy? "Create."
The retention policy? "..."
After two years, a client had more snapshot storage than active data. The storage budget was three times higher than necessary.
The "Temporary" Resources
"We need more capacity for the project shortly."
The project has been completed for 18 months. Capacity is still running.
48% of companies do not track idle resources.
What is not tracked is not stopped.
On-Demand, Even Though There's Another Way
58% do not use Reserved Instances or Savings Plans.
It's like buying single tickets every day when you need an annual pass. AWS and Azure offer 30-60% discounts for commitments. Most pay full on-demand prices.
The Real Problem
Here's the uncomfortable truth:
55% of developers say cloud purchases are based on estimates.
Not on data. Not on analyses. On estimates.
"How much do we need?" "No idea. Let's just take this."
That doesn't work. It has never worked. But without visibility, there's no better option.
52% say the disconnect between FinOps and Development leads to wasted cloud costs.
The developers don't know what things cost. Finance only sees the total bill. No one connects the dots.
The Path to Transparency
The good news: The problem is solvable. And the solution doesn't have to be complicated.
Step 1: Take Tagging Seriously
Every resource needs tags. Project. Team. Environment. Cost center.
Sounds trivial. Still not done. Or not consistently.
Without tags, no allocation. Without allocation, no accountability. Without accountability, no optimization.
Step 2: Create Visibility
AWS Cost Explorer. Azure Cost Management. Or a third-party tool.
Whichever one - the main thing is, someone has to look at it. Regularly. Not once a year during the budget review.
Continuous monitoring increases forecast accuracy by 35%.
Step 3: Establish Accountability
Who is responsible for cloud costs? Not "the IT". Not "everyone". A specific person or team.
At 70% of large companies, there are now dedicated FinOps teams. For SMEs, it doesn't have to be full-time - but it has to be someone.
Step 4: Implement Quick Wins
Stop idle resources. If it hasn't had any CPU load for 30 days, it probably isn't needed.
Dev/Test Scheduling. 6 PM off, 8 AM on. Weekend off. This alone often saves 60% of dev/test costs.
Snapshot Retention. 90 days is usually enough. 365 is almost never needed.
Rightsizing. If the instance consistently runs under 20% CPU, it's too large.
Step 5: Evaluate Savings Plans
Once you have visibility, you know which workloads run stably. Commitments are worthwhile for those.
30-60% discount compared to on-demand. That's not marginal. That's substantial.
What FinOps Can Achieve
FinOps adoption grew by 46% in 2025. Because it works.
Companies implementing FinOps save 25-40% of their cloud costs.
This is not theory. This is measurable.
But FinOps is not software you buy. It's a discipline. A way of working. A culture of cost responsibility.
80% organizational, 20% technical. No dashboard replaces someone who takes responsibility for the bill.
The Numbers That Count
84% struggle with cloud cost management. You are not alone.
27-32% is wasted. Probably in your case too.
30% can allocate what they are paying for. Are you one of them?
54% of waste is due to a lack of visibility. The solution is transparency, not a bigger budget.
25-40% savings are possible. With FinOps principles, consistently implemented.
The question is not whether you pay too much for the cloud. The question is, how much.
If You Need Help
We perform cloud cost assessments. Not to sell tools - to create transparency.
Cost Visibility: Where does the money go?
Waste Identification: What is avoidable?
Quick Wins: What could you stop tomorrow?
Savings Plan Optimization: Where are commitments worthwhile?
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