Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Improving your AWS cost reporting (COP203)

Summary

• Introduction of Speakers: Bowen Wang, principal product marketing manager for AWS billing and cost management, and Matt Burke, principal technical account manager.
• New AWS Billing and Cost Management Console: A unified console that simplifies access to cloud financial management tools and provides a summary of costs, alerts, and recommended actions.
• Cost Explorer Enhancements: Extended retention of historical data up to 38 months for free, and the addition of resource-level data for all AWS services.
• Data Exports and CUR 2.0: New data export experience with a fixed schema for the CUR 2.0 table, allowing for column selection and SQL-like row filtering.
• App Registry Integration: App registry resource tags are automatically enabled as cost allocation tags for better application cost management.
• QuickSight Dashboard: A new cost and usage dashboard powered by QuickSight that can be shared securely with stakeholders for quick analysis and customization.
• Cost Allocation and AWS Billing Conductor (ABC): Improved cost allocation methods and the introduction of AWS Billing Conductor for transparent cross-account chargeback processes.
• KPIs and Recommendations: Emphasis on developing measurable KPIs that correlate AWS spend with business outcomes and the importance of cost allocation for creating cost accountability.

Insights

• Cost Reporting Importance: Accurate and real-time cost reporting is crucial for making informed decisions and encouraging responsible spending behaviors within an organization.
• Unified Console Benefits: The new unified console aims to streamline the user experience by consolidating various billing and cost management services, reducing the need to navigate between multiple consoles.
• Historical Data Access: The ability to access up to 38 months of historical data for free in Cost Explorer is significant for conducting multi-year analyses and understanding long-term trends.
• Granular Data Analysis: The addition of resource-level data for all AWS services in Cost Explorer enables more detailed analysis of cost drivers, which can lead to more targeted cost optimization efforts.
• Data Exports Customization: The new data exports feature with CUR 2.0 provides a consistent data schema, which is essential for maintaining data pipelines and allows for customization of the data set to meet compliance requirements.
• Application Cost Management: The integration of app registry resource tags with cost management tools underscores AWS's focus on providing better visibility and management of application-specific costs.
• QuickSight Integration: The launch of a QuickSight-powered dashboard directly from the billing console indicates a push towards making data analysis more accessible and shareable among stakeholders without requiring deep AWS console knowledge.
• Cost Allocation and Chargeback: The session highlighted the importance of effective cost allocation methods, such as tag-based and rule-based approaches, and introduced AWS Billing Conductor as a solution for managing chargeback processes more transparently.
• KPI Development: The discussion on KPIs suggests that organizations should not only focus on cost-based KPIs but also develop value-based KPIs that tie cloud spending to business outcomes, promoting a culture of cost efficiency and accountability.