Akamai, a prominent technology company, faced a daunting financial challenge with its burgeoning public cloud bills that had soared into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Initially, Akamai’s extensive reliance on public cloud services was intended to foster innovation and scalability within its operations. However, the company’s lack of oversight in managing these workloads led to unexpectedly high costs. This article delves into the transformative journey undertaken by Akamai to regain control over its cloud expenses through a concerted initiative known as Project Cirrus, highlighting the comprehensive strategies employed to achieve significant cost reductions.
The Cloud Cost Conundrum
Akamai’s extensive use of public cloud services was driven by the necessity for innovation and scalability. However, the company soon found itself grappling with soaring cloud costs that threatened to undermine its financial health. Kate Prouty, Akamai’s Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Information Officer (CIO), pinpointed the primary reason for the burgeoning expenses as a lack of oversight in managing workloads. The acquisition of several cloud-native companies further exacerbated Akamai’s cloud dependency, making it imperative for the company to reassess its strategy to effectively manage costs. Despite the benefits of public cloud platforms for innovative engineers, it was clear that a fundamental shift was required to address the escalating expenses.
The turning point for Akamai’s cloud strategy was marked by the acquisition of Linode, a renowned private cloud solution. This strategic move initiated a company-wide comprehensive review of Akamai’s cloud usage, leading to an extensive strategic overhaul known as Project Cirrus. The primary objective of Project Cirrus was to optimize Akamai’s cloud deployments and identify potential inefficiencies within its cloud management practices. Linode emerged as a new platform enabling Akamai to repatriate numerous workloads, thereby significantly reducing reliance on costly public cloud solutions.
The Turning Point: Acquisition of Linode
The acquisition of Linode not only served as a catalyst for Project Cirrus but also laid the foundation for Akamai’s cost-optimization strategies. Through this pivotal acquisition, Akamai embarked on a comprehensive review of its cloud usage, which highlighted key areas for potential improvement and cost-cutting measures. Project Cirrus essentially focused on optimizing the company’s cloud deployments to uncover inefficiencies and enhance overall cloud management practices. Utilizing Linode’s private cloud capabilities allowed Akamai to successfully repatriate many workloads, effectively reducing dependency on expensive public cloud solutions and achieving remarkable cost savings.
As a result of the strategic changes implemented under Project Cirrus, Akamai witnessed substantial cost reductions in its cloud expenditures. In the first year alone, the company achieved a striking 40% saving due to a combination of Linode’s solutions and a thorough evaluation of cloud management practices. The company discovered that overprovisioning, which often led to unused and outdated workloads running in the cloud, was a prevalent issue contributing to inflated costs. Addressing such inefficiencies was crucial in bringing the cloud expenses under control and optimizing overall cloud usage.
Project Cirrus: Uncovering Inefficiencies
One of the key elements of Project Cirrus was the meticulous uncovering and addressing of inefficiencies in Akamai’s cloud management practices. The company found that overprovisioning was a common practice, resulting in many unused and outdated workloads running in the cloud, which significantly contributed to the escalating costs. By identifying and eliminating these inefficiencies, Akamai was able to make substantial strides in optimizing its cloud usage. This meticulous approach led to a dramatic 40% reduction in public cloud expenses within the first year of implementation, showcasing the impact of effective cloud management and optimization.
An essential aspect of Project Cirrus was to assess the necessity and efficiency of existing workloads through a comprehensive IT audit. This audit revealed that many workloads had been left unchecked since their initial deployment. By conducting thorough reviews and reassessments, the company addressed prevalent inefficiencies and introduced a shift in its cloud culture. Akamai’s engineering mindset had to evolve towards cost-consciousness and resource stewardship, as underscored by Prouty. This involved training engineers to comprehend the financial implications of cloud capacity and fostering a culture of deliberate and efficient resource use.
Conducting an IT Audit
A critical part of Akamai’s cost-optimization strategy under Project Cirrus was performing a rigorous IT audit. This audit aimed to evaluate the necessity and efficiency of existing workloads, revealing that many workloads had remained unscrutinized since their deployment. The audit process identified numerous inefficiencies, prompting a cultural shift within Akamai’s engineering teams towards a more cost-conscious approach. Prouty emphasized the importance of training engineers to acknowledge the financial implications of cloud capacity and to act as stewards of the company’s resources, fostering a mindset of resource efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Shifting the engineering culture towards cost-awareness and resource stewardship was vital in achieving sustainable cloud management. The company recognized that beyond technological reviews, it was imperative to instill a sense of financial responsibility among its engineers. Training sessions and continuous oversight were implemented to ensure engineers were equipped to take ownership of their resources, thereby contributing to overall cost reduction. This cultural shift not only enhanced cloud efficiency but also aligned engineering practices with the company’s financial objectives.
Embracing FinOps and Industry Trends
Akamai’s approach under Project Cirrus is reflective of broader industry trends, as companies increasingly recognize the importance of FinOps (Financial Operations) to manage and rationalize cloud costs effectively. Gartner predicts the global cloud market will expand by 21.5%, reaching $723 billion in 2023, driven by growing consumption of AI and software services. Despite a proliferation of FinOps solutions, cloud spending continues to rise, underscoring the ongoing challenges organizations face in controlling cloud expenses. Akamai’s initiative exemplifies how adopting FinOps principles can yield significant cost savings and operational efficiencies.
FinOps, which encompasses practices such as monitoring workload optimization, tracking expenses, and linking costs to specific deployments, played a crucial role in Akamai’s strategy. Prouty explained that while the company continued leveraging hyperscaler services, it now made more deliberate choices for workloads based on business outcomes. This pragmatic approach signified a trend towards optimizing cloud usage rather than undergoing wholesale repatriation. Furthermore, hybrid-by-design architectures were configured to maximize cloud value, demonstrating Akamai’s commitment to leveraging cloud technology efficiently and cost-effectively.
Implementing Best Practices in FinOps
Adopting best practices in FinOps was central to Akamai’s success in reducing cloud costs. The company built tools to monitor workload optimization, track expenses, and link costs to specific deployments as part of its holistic cost-management strategy. Prouty highlighted that Akamai continued to utilize hyperscaler services; however, decisions on workloads were more deliberate and aligned with business outcomes. This approach represents a shift towards optimizing cloud usage by carefully provisioning resources and adopting hybrid architectures, which maximized cloud value and minimized unnecessary expenditure.
Implementing FinOps not only involved adopting tools and practices but also fostered collaboration across Akamai’s departments. Finance, procurement, and engineering teams worked together to rein in cloud expenses, with Reserved Instance compute being a crucial factor in achieving savings. According to VP Ari Weil, relying on Reserved Instance compute instead of more expensive on-demand services resulted in sustainable savings of 75% in some cloud bills. This cross-departmental collaboration underscored the importance of a unified approach in managing cloud costs effectively.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration
Akamai’s strategy to manage and reduce cloud expenses required collaboration across various departments. The initiative was not solely an IT endeavor but a unified effort involving finance, procurement, and engineering teams working together towards a common goal. Employing Reserved Instance compute instead of costlier on-demand services emerged as a pivotal strategy in achieving substantial savings. In some instances, Akamai realized sustainable savings of up to 75% on cloud bills. This collaborative approach highlighted the effectiveness of cohesive teamwork in optimizing cloud expenditure.
Leadership challenges and technological revisions were unavoidable aspects of this journey. Prouty candidly acknowledged that overprovisioning was a workaround for deficiencies in the initial development and engineering of workloads. Addressing these issues necessitated technological revisions, including rewriting applications and adopting cloud-agnostic principles and tools. Despite the fear of uncovering deeper structural issues within their cloud strategy, Akamai’s decision to confront these challenges head-on resulted in a more robust and cost-efficient cloud strategy, setting a precedent for other industry players.
Leadership Challenges and Technological Revisions
The path to reducing cloud expenses was not without leadership challenges and required technological revisions. Prouty acknowledged that Akamai’s overprovisioning stemmed from deficiencies in the initial development and engineering of workloads. Tackling these issues entailed essential technological revisions, such as rewriting applications and leveraging cloud-agnostic principles and tools. Confronting deeper structural issues within their cloud strategy posed significant challenges. However, addressing these challenges allowed Akamai to implement a more robust, efficient, and cost-effective cloud strategy, thereby setting an example for others in the industry to follow.
Akamai’s experience underscores the importance of continuous oversight, cross-departmental collaboration, and a willingness to confront internal inefficiencies in managing cloud costs effectively. By realigning its engineering practices with financial prudence and leveraging solutions like Linode, Akamai achieved substantial reductions in its cloud expenditures while maintaining its innovation and modernization goals. This narrative highlights the critical need for a strategic and collaborative approach in achieving sustainable technology management.