Well-Architected Framework: Cost optimization pillar

To view the content in the cost optimization pillar on a single page or to to get a PDF output of the content, seeView on one page.

The cost optimization pillar in theGoogle Cloud Well-Architected Framework describes principles and recommendations to optimize the cost of your workloadsin Google Cloud.

The intended audience includes the following:

  • CTOs, CIOs, CFOs, and other executives who are responsible for strategiccost management.
  • Architects, developers, administrators, and operators who make decisionsthat affect cost at all the stages of an organization's cloud journey.

The cost models for on-premises and cloud workloads differ significantly.On-premises IT costs include capital expenditure (CapEx) and operationalexpenditure (OpEx). On-premises hardware and software assets are acquired andthe acquisition costs aredepreciated over the operating life of the assets. In the cloud, the costs for most cloudresources are treated as OpEx, where costs are incurred when the cloud resourcesare consumed. This fundamental difference underscores the importance of thefollowing core principles of cost optimization.

Note: You might be able to classify the cost of some Google Cloud services (likeCompute Engine sole-tenant nodes) as capital expenditure. For moreinformation, seeSole-tenancy accounting FAQ.

For cost optimization principles and recommendations that are specific to AI and ML workloads, seeAI and ML perspective: Cost optimizationin the Well-Architected Framework.

Core principles

The recommendations in the cost optimization pillar of the Well-Architected Frameworkare mapped to the following core principles:

  • Align cloud spending with businessvalue:Ensure that your cloud resources deliver measurable business value byaligning IT spending with business objectives.
  • Foster a culture of costawareness:Ensure that people across your organization consider the cost impact oftheir decisions and activities, and ensure that they have access to the costinformation required to make informed decisions.
  • Optimize resourceusage:Provision only the resources that you need, and pay only for the resourcesthat you consume.
  • Optimizecontinuously:Continuously monitor your cloud resource usage and costs, and proactivelymake adjustments as needed to optimize your spending. This approach involvesidentifying and addressing potential cost inefficiencies before they becomesignificant problems.

These principles are closely aligned with the core tenets ofcloud FinOps.FinOps is relevant to any organization, regardless of its size or maturity inthe cloud. By adopting these principles and following the relatedrecommendations, you can control and optimize costs throughout your journey inthe cloud.

Contributors

Author:Nicolas Pintaux | Customer Engineer, Application Modernization Specialist

Other contributors:

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under theCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under theApache 2.0 License. For details, see theGoogle Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Last updated 2024-10-11 UTC.