How to optimize cloud costs

Introduction

Cloud makes IT spending variable and linked to actual service usage. This is an advantage in terms of flexibility, but it requires control and attention: without clear measures and rules, costs can increase unpredictably. For public administrations, keeping spending under control means ensuring the long-term sustainability of digital services and freeing up resources for innovation, as stated in the Cloud Italia Strategy Opens in a new tab .

This is where the FinOps (Financial Operations) methodology comes in: an approach for measuring, making transparent, and managing cloud spending to maintain service quality over time.

Why cloud costs can increase

With the cloud, resources can be activated quickly and costs are tied to the consumption and use of services. This flexibility, without control rules, can lead to situations where cost increases are not immediately apparent.

Some examples of this include when virtual machines remain active even when not needed, test environments are not turned off after use, or resources are oversized compared to actual needs. Without monitoring tools and clear rules, it becomes difficult to know who is spending what and for what purpose.

The ways cloud models are used offer advantages, but also pose risks: resources can be created without proper planning, leading to a loss of control over overall spending. Technical teams often focus on functional and performance aspects, without considering the economic impact of their choices. A very common result is that budgets become inaccurate, spending forecasts uncertain, and resources difficult to optimize.

The FinOps approach

The FinOps methodology links cost monitoring to management decisions. With a structured approach to cloud spending, it doesn’t just reduce costs, but maximizes the value of technology investments and balances economic efficiency with the ability to innovate.

The FinOps approach is based on three pillars:

• visibility: knowing exactly how spending is distributed, which services consume the most, and where there are unused resources;

• financial accountability: assigning budgets and responsibilities to teams and projects, making the impact of technical choices on costs clear;

• optimization: eliminating waste and adjusting resource sizing, while maintaining performance and service quality.

This approach requires technical teams to think not only in functional terms but also to consider the economic impact of their decisions. Every resource should be linked to an identifiable person responsible, every expense to a cost item, and any budget overrun should trigger an alert. Producing regular reports helps all stakeholders gain visibility into the situation and make informed decisions.

Tools for measuring and controlling spending

Cloud providers offer tools for monitoring and analyzing costs. These systems continuously track service consumption and indicate where action can be taken to improve resource usage.

Alerts are automatic notifications that are triggered when thresholds defined by the administration are exceeded (or approached). They can refer to the total spending of a project, the daily cost of a service, or the usage of a specific resource. When a threshold is reached, the relevant contacts receive a notification and can act immediately: resize, shut down unnecessary environments, or check for anomalies.

Tagging means labeling resources with metadata useful for reporting: project, responsible office, cost center, environment (production, test, development). Thanks to these labels, resources can be grouped consistently, budgets can be assigned by group, and alerts can be linked to relevant thresholds. This way, it becomes clear who is spending what and why, and action can be taken before overruns occur. Measuring is certainly the first step, but to turn spending data into decisions, a shared governance framework is needed.

Strategies for optimizing resources and avoiding waste

The first step is to organize existing resources. Identify inactive or oversized resources (for example, virtual machines that are running but not used, test environments left operational, storage filled with unnecessary data), and then shut them down, resize, or clean them up. This activity generates immediate savings without impacting services.

To prevent costs from rising, stable habits are needed. It is useful to schedule the automatic shutdown of non-production environments outside working hours, apply data lifecycle rules to move data to cheaper storage when it is less frequently accessed, and periodically review resource sizing. A monthly or quarterly check of what is active and actually used—supported by cloud provider tools or external expertise—keeps spending under control over time.

Value and benefits for public administrations

Managing cloud costs in a structured way is not just an exercise in saving: it makes digital services sustainable over time. The benefits are immediately tangible, because spending becomes predictable, budgets are more accurate, and every expense is tracked in detail. This allows essential services to remain active without interruption, makes it easier to plan future developments with confidence, and provides clear data on how public resources are used.

The savings achieved through shutdowns, resizing, and more efficient configuration choices can be reinvested in concrete priorities, such as improving service experience, strengthening security, introducing new features, or experimenting with new technologies.