A guest post by Tyler Strand, co-founder and CTO of Air, Inc.
Running a Series A startup demands innovation and efficiency, especially in an era defined by technological shifts and economic challenges. Today, striving for rapid growth while keeping a close eye on expenses is a balancing act that every CTO faces. At Air, our optimization journey took a pivotal turn when we partnered with Aimably, a trailblazing cloud cost management company.
In just three months, we achieved a 24% reduction in AWS spending and elevated our gross margins by nearly 10%, all without sacrificing development velocity or expanding our Amazon spend commitments.
And the best part: we achieved these cost savings without writing any code.
Initiating the Transformation
Our journey began in late 2022 when our infrastructure costs were spiraling out of control. As a digital media asset management platform, these costs were inherently intertwined with our operations, but we were eager to explore avenues for optimization. Amidst our rapid expansion, we realized that addressing the infrastructure cost issue was essential to our financial sustainability.
Enter Aimably—a team of public cloud cost management specialists who not only recognized the demands of our growth-focused stage but also understood the intricacies of the cloud-native, serverless strategies we were leveraging. Their approach resonated with our vision, and their commitment to aligning with our business goals and contractual obligations sealed the deal. With Aimably onboard, we embarked on a mission to streamline our AWS expenses and enhance our profitability.
Detailed Discoveries and Tangible Results
During the engagement, I challenged our internal infrastructure team to address cost control simultaneously with Aimably’s analysis. The outcome was both surprising and enlightening. Aimably’s insights surpassed our expectations, identifying a multitude of opportunities for improvement that we hadn't recognized internally.
For areas where our findings overlapped, Aimably provided meticulously documented steps for implementing changes and quantifying projected savings, above and beyond our own work product. This synergy between our efforts and Aimably’s expertise streamlined the process, delivering tangible results that exceeded our initial aspirations.
Highlighting the Transformational Savings
Three months later, these are the most remarkable cost savings we achieved:
Database (Aurora)
With Aimably’s guidance, we optimized our backup processes, migrated to Graviton instances, fine-tuned scale-up/down triggers, implemented I/O optimized billing, and embraced second-level caching for read queries. These measures resulted in an astounding 87% cost reduction in this area.
Compute (EC2, ECS, Elastic Beanstalk & Batch)
By fine tuning scale-up/down triggers, prioritizing Graviton instances, eliminating minimum instance size requirements, and embracing spot instances, we achieved a remarkable 93% reduction in compute costs.
Monitoring (Config & GuardDuty)
Aimably’s insights led us to terminate unnecessary monitoring functions our third-party compliance vendor initiated by default, reducing costs by an impressive 99%.
The End of the Road—But a New Beginning
Our journey with Aimably not only improved our financial position but also reinforced the notion that sophisticated cost optimization is attainable without stifling innovation or compromising operational integrity. While some cloud cost management software vendors offer quick fixes or generic solutions, the nuanced and tailored approach that Aimably provides is unmatched.
To fellow CTOs navigating similar challenges, I wholeheartedly recommend Aimably. Their sophistication, specificity, and speed in identifying cost-saving strategies can transform your infrastructure spending. Air’s continued growth and improved efficiency are a testament to the potential that lies within an Aimably partnership. With Aimably, the journey to optimized AWS costs is easy.
Contact Aimably to embark on your own transformative cost-saving journey.
