Burst Pipes vs Leaky Faucets: Getting to the Root of Cloud Waste

FinOps teams often focus on addressing large-scale issues like accidentally running high-cost cloud resources, but the true financial drain comes from the cumulative effect of numerous small, inefficient decisions made by engineers daily. These include oversized instances, unoptimized configurations, and unused resources that collectively lead to significant budget overruns, often categorized as "leaky faucets." Over 40% of cloud waste arises from overprovisioned resources due to default settings, and 27% of cloud spending is wasted on forgotten resources. A common issue, termed the "Terraform Copy-Paste Effect," involves the repeated use of inefficient infrastructure configurations, resulting in unnecessary costs. Traditional FinOps processes struggle to address these incremental wastes, as they are often mistaken for normal growth in cloud spending. Integrating cost optimization directly into Infrastructure as Code (IaC) workflows allows engineers to see the cost implications of their decisions in real time, enabling proactive adjustments and fostering a culture of cost efficiency. This approach helps prevent the installation of inefficient infrastructure, significantly reducing overall waste and saving millions, as opposed to merely addressing visible, one-time incidents.