8 Storage Optimization Strategies
This chapter covers
- The different types of storage and their cost implications
- Identifying unused, idle, or overprovisioned storage across services
- Implementing lifecycle policies and automation for cost control.
- Using budgets, tagging, and dashboards to enforce cost accountability
- Extending storage and cost optimization across multiple cloud providers
Storage services are among the most widely used and persistent components in any cloud architecture. Unlike compute resources, which can be scaled down or turned off to save costs, storage often grows silently accumulating costs over time if not managed carefully. This chapter explores how to optimize storage usage across cloud providers with a focus on AWS services. It builds on the asset inventory foundations laid earlier in the book, guiding you through practical techniques to reduce costs, avoid waste, and maintain performance without sacrificing availability or durability.
We’ll start by understanding the factors driving storage costs, such as pricing models and key storage categories. From there, we’ll dive into actionable best practices like automating lifecycle management, cleaning up orphaned resources, rightsizing volumes, and setting budgets for storage spending. Additionally, we’ll discuss how multi-cloud environments introduce unique complexities and examine tools and strategies to standardize storage governance across providers.