FinOps Foundations · Module 04

Optimize Usage and Cost

The Optimize phase in practice: use less (rightsizing, idle clean-up, scheduling), pay less per unit (Savings Plans, reservations, spot), fix the storage and network costs that grow quietly, and allocate and optimise Kubernetes spend.

Practice interactively →

What you will learn

• Find and act on rightsizing, idle and scheduling opportunities
• Plan commitments with coverage, utilisation and break-even, and know when spot fits
• Reduce storage and data-transfer cost with lifecycle rules and better network paths
• Allocate Kubernetes cost by namespace and right-size requests

Lessons

1. Usage Optimization: Rightsize, Clean Up, Schedule

   Usage optimisation removes waste: delete idle and orphaned resources, rightsize over-provisioned instances from utilisation data, schedule non-production to run only in working hours, and modernise to newer or managed options.

2. Rate Optimization: Commitments and Spot

   Rate optimisation lowers the price per unit: cover the steady baseline with Savings Plans or reservations sized by coverage and utilisation targets, check break-even, use spot for interruptible work and negotiate enterprise discounts.

3. Storage and Network Costs

   Storage and data transfer grow quietly: tier data with lifecycle rules, clean up snapshots and logs by retention policy, and cut transfer cost with VPC endpoints, CDN caching and keeping traffic inside one zone or region.

4. Kubernetes Cost Allocation and Optimization

   Kubernetes hides cost behind shared nodes; OpenCost and similar tools allocate node cost to namespaces and workloads by requests and usage, and savings come from right-sizing requests, bin packing, autoscaling and spot node pools.