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AWS cloud environment cost analysis and reduction
What was the project about?
Livespace has based its product, an advanced CRM system, on Amazon Web Services. Building on previous experience in cloud services cost optimisation, we reached out to Livespace, offering to perform an analysis that would serve as a springboard for designing and deploying a new architecture for a more secure and effective AWS environment.
Once we got the go-ahead, we examined the environment specifically with a view to reducing the monthly maintenance costs of the Livespace cloud platform. Our analysis revealed that the client could save more than 48,000 dollars per year and savings could be even greater if our cooperation continued with a more in-depth analysis of their databases.
Decision-makers at Livespace were interested in the results and open to further cooperation. Accordingly, we prepared a two-pronged offer: we offered to implement changes suggested by the cost analysis but also provide further AWS infrastructure maintenance and development services. The client decided to accept both offers and our cooperation continues to this day.
April 2021 – now
IT, Start-up
- Cloud services
- IT consulting
We can help your business too
Who have we helped?
Our client has designed, developed and continues to upgrade a next-generation CRM system that helps boost the productivity of B2B sales teams. Currently, Livespace is one of the most popular CRMs for small and medium-sized businesses across Poland and its unique priority setting and sale finalisation features are increasingly appreciated by foreign companies.
Livespace is a four-time winner of the ranking of top CRMs for the SME sector published by Sellwise.
What were the key challenges of the project?
- To identify savings that could be made by changing how AWS services are configured or used;
- To develop and propose specific changes that would allow these savings to be achieved in practice;
- To analyse the AWS environment configuration and propose changes to boost its reliability, security and cost effectiveness.
How did we address the challenge?
First, we performed a cost analysis to identify the AWS services that generated the highest monthly costs (which, in practice, represented c. 90% of the total costs of Livespace cloud maintenance).
In our report, we offered, e.g. to reconfigure the EC2 environment to eliminate unused instances, select the appropriate server parameters and change the configuration of the cluster environment. Our proposals also covered reducing the use of Kubernetes, tidying up historical resources and reconfiguring the backup mechanism.
Since the client showed interest in our recommendations, we continued to work together in:
- providing AWS infrastructure maintenance and development services, as well as support in the implementation of the FinOps approach;
- implementing changes suggested directly by our AWS environment analysis for Livespace.
To achieve our objectives, we set up a Livespace-Altkom Software technical support team which, step by step, began to implement the plans and initiatives suggested in the cost. analysis report. Since the client also decided to contract our maintenance services, we now continue to upgrade the AWS Livespace environment based on FinOps practices.
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How did we work on the project?
Analysis
Reviewing and analysing the client’s environment in the AWS cloud.
Report
Producing a report that presented the results of our cost analysis.
Recommendations
Recommending changes in AWS service configuration and infrastructure.
Maintenance
Further infrastructure maintenance and development. Support in implementing the FinOps approach.
What did we achieve?
Reducing the monthly cost of AWS services (by 34%).
Improving security through changes in the client’s environment configuration.
Improving cost predictability through a new cost management culture.
Analysed AWS services
Relational Database Service
Elastic Compute Cloud
Simple Storage Service
ElastiCache
NAT Gateway
CloudWatch
Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes
Virtual Private Cloud
Elastic Load Balancing
Head of Cloud UnitCloud cost optimisation was an important but by no means the only challenge we had to address. In reality, our Livespace project covered many other aspects. What mattered greatly for the client’s fast-growing business was to ensure that their infrastructure would be scalable and reliable, but also easy to manage, modify and develop in the future. These expectations were addressed by implementing the IaC (Infrastructure as Code) approach.
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