Have you ever looked at your cloud bill and wondered where all that money went? You’re right to be concerned. Here’s a shocking fact: companies are wasting up to 35% of their cloud spend on resources that sit idle, doing absolutely nothing. This is like leaving the coffee machine running 24/7 – it just doesn’t make sense. Smart scheduling has been shown to help fintech companies, banks and payment providers slash their non-production cloud costs by up to 40%.
Why your cloud bill might be giving you a headache
Non-production environments – such as QA, staging and acceptance systems that are essential for testing – don’t need to be running while everyone’s sleeping or enjoying their weekend. Nevertheless, they’re often left humming away, racking up costs around the clock. In the highly regulated world of financial services, where multiple testing environments are mandatory for compliance and security, these unnecessary runtime costs can snowball into a serious budget drain.
The smart solution: schedule it like your coffee machine
Just as you wouldn’t leave your coffee machine running overnight, there’s no reason to keep non-production environments active 24/7. Modern tools like Azure Automation and Terraform make scheduling environment shutdowns as easy as setting your morning alarm. One fintech company tried this approach and slashed its non-production cloud costs by 40%. Imagine what that could mean for your budget!
The tech behind the magic
- Azure Automation: Think of this as your cloud environment’s personal assistant. It handles all the VM scheduling, works seamlessly with Azure Logic Apps, and keeps everything organized through Runbooks.
- Terraform: This is the Swiss Army Knife of cloud management. It speaks multiple cloud languages and can handle scheduled provisioning across different platforms using Infrastructure-as-Code principles.
Real numbers, real impact
By implementing automated shutdowns during off-hours (nights and weekends), a typical fintech company running multiple test environments on Azure can:
- Cut environment costs by 30-50%
- Save tens of thousands of euros annually
- Redirect the savings to innovation and growth
- Maintain full testing capabilities during working hours
Best practices for making it work
- Start with a usage audit: Map out when your environments are actually being used
- Create custom schedules: Different teams might need different hours
- Monitor and adapt: Keep an eye on patterns and adjust accordingly
- Use smart tagging: Leverage Azure tags to track and manage your shutdown strategy
- Roll it out gradually: Start with one environment, prove the concept, then expand
Security and compliance considerations
Crucially, scheduled shutdowns won’t compromise the security posture or compliance of financial institutions. In fact, reducing active hours can actually decrease your attack surface during off-hours. Just ensure that your shutdown procedures include proper data preservation and security protocols.
The next step
Cloud cost optimization doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right tools and strategy, you can start saving immediately without disrupting your development cycles or compromising quality.
Why choose Maxcode to transform your cloud efficiency?
At Maxcode, we’ve been helping fintech companies optimize their cloud infrastructure for over 20 years. Our team of certified cloud experts are specialized in implementing cost-effective solutions that maintain the highest standards of security and performance for financial institutions. Reasons for choosing Maxcode include:
- Deep expertise in fintech and banking sector requirements
- Proven track record of reducing clients’ cloud costs by up to 40%
- Custom solutions tailored to the specific operational needs
- End-to-end implementation and support
- Comprehensive security and compliance knowledge
Don’t let unnecessary cloud costs eat into your profits. Reach out to Maxcode today, and let’s build a more efficient cloud infrastructure together.
Transform cloud spending from a burden into a competitive advantage with Maxcode – your trusted partner in fintech cloud optimization.
