A critique of the AWS Community Builders program: why it can resemble employment, delivers low value, rewards marketing over judgment, and may block careers.
FinOps
AWS Credits & Discount Programs Overview
AWS credits and discount programs explained: startup credits (Kickstarter/Activate), PoC + MAP funding, partner credits, and discounts like EDP, private pricing, and volume tiers.
FinOps is dead, long live the Cloud Financial Management
Why “FinOps” has lost meaning: a critique of the FinOps Foundation’s assumptions and incentives, and why “Cloud Financial Management” is clearer—plus notes on waste, effectiveness vs efficiency.
How to move data from Google Cloud Storage to Seagate Lyve
Move data from Google Cloud Storage to Seagate Lyve (S3-compatible, no egress fees) using rclone: create access keys, configure remotes, copy, and verify with AWS CLI.
Review of the book “Cloud FinOps, 2nd Edition” by J.R. Storment, Mike Fuller, O’Reilly Media Inc. 2023
Critical review of Cloud FinOps, 2nd Edition (O’Reilly): argues FinOps shouldn’t be a separate persona, critiques framework claims, and notes missing actionable guidance.
Top 3 Performance Optimization Insights from using DevOps Guru for RDS
3 DevOps Guru for RDS insights: rightsize Aurora/RDS, diagnose issues faster, and pinpoint anomalous SQL using Database Load + Performance Insights.
Top 3 Lessons from Running 300+ Cost-effective Solutions on AWS
Lessons from optimizing 300+ AWS workloads: stop reactive FinOps, design cloud-native architecture, choose cost/performance tradeoffs, and benchmark continuously.
CloudFix’s AWS Data Transfer Costs in the AWS Metropolis Infographics
CloudFix’s AWS data transfer cost infographics: why egress pricing is tricky, key nuances many miss, and how to dramatically reduce AWS data transfer spend (download).
FinOps Foundation’s “FinOps Certified Professional” Certification
Reflections on the FinOps Foundation FinOps Certified Professional: curriculum & framework, cost, and why it pays off—Slack access, peers, and signaling.
Usage+Spend Forecasting on AWS with FinOps Foundation’s Best Practices
FinOps forecasting on AWS: build a CUR + CloudWatch data lake in S3, query with Athena, forecast net unblended vs amortized costs, and present results clearly.