A global leader in the medical device manufacturing industry was grappling with escalating AWS cloud expenses that lacked transparency and control across their complex multi-environment infrastructure. With rising operational costs threatening their competitive position and limited visibility into actual consumption patterns, they needed a comprehensive solution to optimize their cloud financial management.
AIM Consulting partnered with this industry leader to implement a strategic FinOps approach that would transform their cloud cost management, enhance financial transparency, and establish sustainable optimization practices for long-term ROI maximization.
Case Study Contents:
- Business Challenge: Escalating Cloud Costs Without Strategic Control
- Approach: Data-Driven FinOps Strategy with Embedded Expertise
- Results: $2M+ Annual Savings Identified Through Strategic FinOps Implementation
What AIM Consulting Did:
- Deployed embedded FinOps specialists directly into client AWS environments for comprehensive usage pattern analysis and optimization opportunity identification
- Implemented automated cost control systems including non-production resource scheduling, comprehensive tagging frameworks, and cloud-native optimization tools integration
- Developed strategic commitment planning methodology for Reserved Instances and Savings Plans with validated rightsizing strategies
- Established continuous monitoring frameworks using AWS Trusted Advisor, Cost Optimization Hub, and Cloud Intelligence Dashboards for sustainable cost governance
- Provided knowledge transfer and training to internal teams on FinOps best practices and ongoing optimization techniques
Technologies Used
- AWS Cost Optimization Hub – Centralized savings identification and tracking
- AWS Trusted Advisor – Real-time cost optimization recommendations
- EC2 Reserved Instances – Commitment-based cost reduction for predictable workloads
- AWS Savings Plans – Flexible compute savings across services
- AWS Lambda – Resource scheduling automation for non-production environment management
Business Challenge: Escalating Cloud Costs Without Strategic Control
The medical device manufacturer faced a critical challenge with their AWS infrastructure costs spiraling upward without corresponding visibility or control mechanisms. Their complex multi-environment setup included production, development, testing, and staging environments that operated independently without centralized cost management oversight.
Key pain points included lack of granular cost visibility across different business units and projects, inefficient resource utilization with instances running continuously regardless of actual demand, and absence of strategic purchasing decisions for Reserved Instances and Savings Plans. The organization also struggled with manual processes for cost tracking and no automated controls for non-production environment management.
The client’s primary goals centered on gaining comprehensive visibility into their true cloud consumption patterns, implementing automated cost controls to prevent unnecessary spending, and establishing a sustainable FinOps framework that would scale with their growing infrastructure needs. They also sought to maximize ROI on their cloud investments through strategic commitment planning and rightsizing initiatives.
Approach: Data-Driven FinOps Strategy with Embedded Expertise
AIM Consulting implemented a comprehensive FinOps strategy that began with embedding specialist resources directly into the client’s AWS environments to conduct thorough assessments of actual usage patterns and spending behaviors. This hands-on approach enabled real-time analysis and immediate identification of optimization opportunities.
The implementation strategy focused on three core pillars: assessment and analysis using native AWS tools combined with custom reporting frameworks, automated control implementation through resource scheduling and comprehensive tagging strategies, and strategic planning for long-term cost optimization through commitment purchases and rightsizing initiatives.
AIM’s team collaborated closely with the client’s internal cloud teams and AWS representatives to ensure alignment with existing operational procedures while introducing new cost governance frameworks. The approach emphasized knowledge transfer throughout the engagement, ensuring the client’s team could maintain and expand upon the implemented solutions independently.
Results: $2M+ Annual Savings Identified Through Strategic FinOps Implementation
AIM’s comprehensive FinOps approach delivered exceptional cost optimization results, identifying over $2 million in projected annual savings with approximately 70% potential cost reduction across targeted environments.
Financial Impact
The assessment revealed substantial cost reduction opportunities across production and non-production environments:
- $1.4M-$1.7M production environment savings through Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and strategic rightsizing initiatives
- $640K non-production savings via automated resource scheduling and rightsizing optimization
Operational Excellence
Implementation established comprehensive visibility and control mechanisms:
- Real-time cost visibility established across all environments and business units using AWS-native optimization tools
- Automated cost controls implemented to prevent unnecessary spending and manage resource utilization
- Comprehensive governance frameworks deployed with AWS Trusted Advisor, Cost Optimization Hub, and Cloud Intelligence Dashboards
Strategic Value
The engagement delivered long-term capabilities and risk mitigation:
- Enhanced financial transparency enabling better budget planning and data-driven infrastructure investment decisions
- Reduced financial risk through validated rightsizing strategies before implementing costly commitment purchases
- Sustainable FinOps practices embedded within the organization’s operational framework for long-term scalability
These results demonstrate the transformative impact of AIM’s embedded FinOps methodology, delivering both immediate cost savings and sustainable optimization practices. The client now has the tools, processes, and expertise to maintain financial control over their cloud infrastructure while supporting continued business growth.
Insights By
Transform Your Cloud Financial Management
AIM Consulting’s proven FinOps methodology can deliver similar transformative results for your organization. Our embedded approach ensures immediate impact while building sustainable capabilities within your team.
Ready to unlock significant cloud cost savings? Contact AIM Consulting today to schedule your optimization assessment.
