Analyzing AWS Cost Data to Improve Your Cloud Cost Management Strategy

Analyzing AWS cost data is fundamental for effective cloud cost management, especially when planning, budgeting, or forecasting. AWS Cost Explorer offers detailed cost reports, but understanding its various categories, such as EC2-Other, and cost views—blended, unblended, and amortized—can be challenging. The EC2-Other category aggregates several unrelated subcategories, complicating cost forecasts, while the different cost views provide nuanced perspectives on expenses, with unblended reflecting real-time costs, amortized spreading upfront payments, and blended offering an averaged view. Discounts like AWS Enterprise Discount Plans, Savings Plans, and Reserved Instances are crucial for organizations with substantial cloud expenditure, providing significant savings. Tools like Vantage can enhance data analysis by reallocating costs to specific resources, offering a clearer picture of expenses and enabling accurate forecasting. Monitoring per-resource costs over extended periods aids in optimizing resource allocation, anomaly detection, and budget planning, beyond the default 14-day view in Cost Explorer, essential for anticipating future demand and optimizing cloud resources.