Ep#22 Mastering the Effective Savings Rate (ESR) in Cloud Cost Management

Join Jon Myer on the FinOps NEXUS podcast as he hosts Hunter Harris and Garrett Dann for an in-depth discussion on the Effective Savings Rate (ESR) and its critical role in cloud cost optimization. Discover how ESR can provide a single source of truth for measuring cloud efficiency, uncover common challenges in implementing ESR, and learn actionable strategies for improving your organization's savings rate. Whether you’re a cloud practitioner or a FinOps enthusiast, this episode is packed with insights to help you optimize your cloud spend effectively!

Key Takeaways:
Understanding ESR: What is Effective Savings Rate, and why it matters in cloud cost management.
Measuring ESR: Key metrics and data points are needed to calculate ESR accurately.
Challenges in Implementing ESR: Common obstacles organizations face and how to overcome them.
Real-world Application: Examples of how ESR has been applied to optimize cloud costs.
Optimization Strategies: Practical steps to improve your ESR and achieve significant savings.

#finops #cloudoptimization #cloudfinancialmanagement

00:00 - Introduction to the podcast and guests - Hunter Harris and Garrett Dann.
01:09 - What is Effective Savings Rate (ESR) and its importance in FinOps.
02:51 - Key metrics and methods for measuring ESR accurately.
04:09 - Challenges in implementing ESR and visualizing cloud costs.
06:32 - Real-world example: Improving ESR by optimizing RDS coverage.
09:42 - Common challenges in committing to cloud savings and improving ESR.
11:58 - Is there an optimal ESR for every company? Factors influencing ESR targets.
14:36 - ESR strategies for different AWS services and using ESR for decision-making.
17:35 - Wrapping up the discussion and final thoughts from Hunter and Garrett.