Cutting AWS Costs by 62% for a Fast-Growing Adtech Company
A fast-growing adtech company reduced its AWS costs by around 62% by clearing out old test data, rightsizing resources and aligning usage with demand.
Company Overview
Datawrkz is a fast-growing technology company delivering data-driven solutions for digital advertising, so its cloud estate had grown quickly alongside the business.
Leadership suspected cloud costs were higher than they needed to be, but lacked a clear view of where the inefficiency was actually coming from, which is a common position for any company scaling at speed.
Problem Statement
Suspecting waste and being able to point to it are two very different things. The job here was to turn a reasonable hunch into a precise picture, so the team could act on facts rather than instinct.
Outcome Delivered
Clearing seven years of old test data, rightsizing EC2 and databases and aligning workloads to demand cut AWS costs by around 62%, and a new FinOps framework means the company can keep scaling without the same waste returning.
Executive Overview
The work delivered savings of approximately 62%, and alongside the cost reduction it gave Datawrkz a sustainable FinOps framework so the company can keep scaling without overspending in future.
Our Approach
The review found more than seven years of test data consuming 11% of monthly costs, applications and databases that together made up almost three-quarters of total spend, and no separation between production and non-production environments. Resources were routinely overprovisioned and left running around the clock regardless of demand.
We terminated idle resources, archived obsolete data, rightsized EC2 instances and databases, and scheduled workloads to align with usage cycles.
Challenges
Challenges Faced
Every engagement starts with a clear-eyed view of what was actually getting in the way, because you cannot fix what you cannot see. Here we set out the real constraints the client was working within, the costs and risks they were carrying, and the gaps that needed closing before any meaningful progress could be made.
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Send an EnquirySuspected but unmeasured waste
Leadership sensed costs were too high but had no clear view of the sources of inefficiency.
Years of old test data
Over seven years of test data was still sitting in active storage, consuming 11% of monthly cost.
Apps and databases dominating spend
Applications and databases together accounted for almost three-quarters of total spend.
No prod / non-prod split
There was no separation between production and non-production environments, which blurred cost and risk.
Deployed solutions
What We Did
A look at how we approached the work, from the first discovery sessions through to the changes we put in place, and the thinking behind each decision along the way. The aim is always the same, to deliver something measurable that the client owns and can build on, rather than a one-off fix that fades once we leave.
Terminate idle resources
Idle resources that were costing money while doing no work were identified and shut down.
Archive obsolete data
More than seven years of accumulated test and obsolete data was archived out of expensive active storage.
Rightsize EC2 and databases
EC2 instances and databases were rightsized to match the workloads they actually served.
Schedule to usage cycles
Workloads were scheduled to follow real usage cycles instead of running continuously.
Around 62% cost reduction
The combined effect was a reduction in AWS costs of roughly 62%.
A sustainable FinOps framework
A FinOps framework was put in place so the company can scale without the same waste returning.