Is your cloud infrastructure decision-making data-driven or opinion-driven? That's the question Siddharth Ram, former CTO at Velocity Global, asked at our autocon conference. During his talk, Siddharth used the example of choosing the right pricing model for compute needs.

Usage-based vs. Time-based Pricing

Siddharth explained two primary pricing models in cloud infrastructure:

1. Usage-based Pricing:
   • Examples: AWS Lambda
   • Pay only for what you use
   • Ideal for smaller scales or variable workloads
2. Time-based Pricing:
   • Examples: Containers with Kubernetes or AWS ECS
   • Pay for the entire instance, regardless of usage
   • Can be more cost-effective at larger scales

Siddharth highlighted the prevalence of opinions in architecture choices. He emphasized that cloud infrastructure decisions shouldn't be based on personal preferences. Instead, he advocated for a focus on what makes sense for your business from a data-driven perspective.

To illustrate his point, Siddharth shared an anecdote from one of his startups: "In our first month, our compute bill was just $7.21 as we were under 1 million Lambda invocations." This example demonstrates how usage-based pricing can be cost-effective for businesses in their early stages or those with fluctuating workloads.

Key Questions to Consider

Based on Siddharth's presentation, here are some crucial questions to ask when evaluating your cloud infrastructure strategy:

1. Have you reached a scale where time-based pricing makes more sense?
2. Are you considering time-to-value for your customers?
3. What's the true cost to your company?

Optimizing Your Cloud Costs

Siddharth's talk at autocon provided valuable insights. If you're interested in discovering how much more efficient your infrastructure could be with either time-based or usage-based computing, consider exploring optimization solutions that can help you find the best cost model for your current needs.

By making data-driven decisions and regularly reassessing your cloud infrastructure choices, as Siddharth Ram suggests, you can ensure that your business operates efficiently and cost-effectively in the cloud.