2024 State Of Cloud Cost Report highlights uncertainties created by unpredictable cloud spend
CloudZero, the globally trusted leader in proactive cloud efficiency, today announced the results of its 2024 State Of Cloud Cost Report, which reveals the realities of cloud computing costs. The survey of 1,000 finance and engineering professionals found that poor cost visibility impacts job performance and that when engineers own cloud costs, overall control increases. The survey is available for viewing here.
Cloud computing continues to boom, with worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services expected to soar to $678.8 billion in 2024. Such rapid growth spotlights the importance of cloud cost optimization. Done right, it transforms spend data into meaningful business insights and gives organizations the tools to maximize the return on their cloud investments.
Highlights of CloudZero’s findings include:
- Engineering ownership equals a better understanding of cloud cost. Data points to a positive correlation between engineering ownership and better business outcomes, like greater confidence in reporting accuracy. 81% of respondents said their cloud costs are “about where they should be” when engineering has some level of ownership.
- Job stability concerns tied to cloud costs. 75% of employees said they fear losing their jobs if cloud costs abruptly surge by 50% or more. This unease is heightened among employees at larger companies, with 100% of those at organizations with over 9,000 personnel fearing their positions are vulnerable.
- There’s been a shift in cloud cost attribution confidence. In 2022, public companies fared worse than venture-backed or private equity-owned companies when it came to cost attribution. But in 2024, venture-backed companies report having the least confidence in attributing cloud spend (32%).
- Nearly nine in 10 respondents say poor cost visibility affects their ability to perform. Not only does low cost visibility cause a lot of disruption, but it also has a big impact on job performance. A whopping 89% of respondents said that lack of cloud cost visibility has an impact on their ability to carry out their role. Just under half report a significant impact, while only 11% said it has no impact at all.
Phil Pergola, CEO of CloudZero, said, “Our founding principle was that cloud cost optimization starts with engineers. Every engineering decision is a buying decision, and when engineers have complete visibility into their cloud costs, they can make smart buying decisions. These results only substantiate this principle. Better visibility leads to better engineering engagement, which in turn fuels better business outcomes — money saved, accountability promoted, profit maximized, and jobs secured.”
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