7 Lessons from Rivian's AWS Cost Optimization Journey
7 Lessons from Rivian's AWS Cost Optimization Journey
Steph Gooch
Amazon Employee
Published Jun 3, 2024
The electric vehicle company Rivian was able to achieve massive cost savings on AWS - saving an amount equal to 100% of their initial monthly bill. Their cost optimization efforts paid off in a big way, freeing up resources to reinvest in future innovation. How did they do it? Here are 7 key lessons from Rivian's inspiring journey:
- Align optimization goals with company finances - Instead of arbitrary cost cutting, Rivian took a strategic approach by aligning their cloud cost optimization targets with the company's overall financial goals and growth plans. They allowed flexibility for investment in innovation but otherwise aimed to keep cloud costs growing no faster than revenue.
- Foster a culture of cost awareness - Leadership made it clear that optimizing cloud costs was a priority and helped teams understand how their optimization efforts mapped to larger company objectives. This top-down messaging was crucial for developing a culture of cost awareness.
- Create a safe environment for cost discussions - Rivian cultivated an environment of trust where teams could have open conversations about wasteful spending or over-provisioned resources without fear of accusations. This promotes transparency and accountability.
- Provide real-time cost visibility - Having easily accessible, real-time data on cloud costs was pivotal. Rivian's cost optimization engineer conducted dozens of meetings to review usage and budgets, giving teams direct visibility into their spend.
- Assume good intentions - Rather than make assumptions about wasteful practices, Rivian dug deeper to understand the root causes behind over-provisioned resources, which could be due to lift-and-shift projects, vendor constraints, or past incidents.
- Get certified expertise - Rivian's cost optimization engineer pursued multiple AWS certifications, including two professional-level ones, to build the required expertise to effectively optimize cloud costs at scale.
- Participate in the FinOps community - While "FinOps" was an emerging practice when Rivian's cost journey began, their team recognized its importance early and got involved, learning from case studies and the broader FinOps community.
Rivian's remarkable cost savings demonstrate what's possible when organizations take a strategic, data-driven approach to FinOps and foster a cost-conscious culture across teams. By applying these lessons, other cloud consumers can unlock their own spend optimization potential.
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