Cloud economics (FinOps)
Using cloud resources efficiently so performance stays high and waste stays low.
Cost as a design constraint
In the cloud, the meter is always running. Good architecture is not just fast and secure, it is also cost-aware.
FinOps brings financial accountability to engineering decisions: rightsizing instances, turning off idle environments, and choosing managed services where they save time and money.
Real-world scenario: viral traffic spike
Expert scenarioScenario: Your app goes viral overnight and traffic increases 1000x. Auto-scaling keeps the app up, but your bill explodes.
Decision: A mature FinOps practice looks not only at scaling up but also at scaling back down after the spike. It also sets budgets, alerts, and cost guardrails so you are not surprised by a one-time marketing campaign or bot traffic.
Traffic spike → auto-scale up → bill explodes
Auto-scaling keeps the app up—but without scale-down and guardrails, the bill can explode.
Decision: what mature FinOps does
Mature FinOps scales down after the spike, not only up.
Set budgets and cost alerts so you're not surprised by campaigns or bot traffic.
Guardrails prevent runaway spend from one-time viral or attack traffic.
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