- AI adoption continues to rise and companies are expanding the cloud to adapt
- Cloud debris has increased for the first time in five years
- Unified teams can be more focused, leading to less waste
According to Flexera, 85% of companies still see managing cloud spending as a major challenge, except that artificial intelligence is causing them to spend more than ever before on cloud services.
Four-fifths (81%) are now using artificial intelligence, up from 47% in 2024, and it’s driving waste at the same time. In fact, cloud waste has risen to 29%, marking the first increase in five years, and Flexeras blames it on AI.
Cloud garbage can be caused by a number of factors, including unused VMs and databases, extra compute, storage or memory, old backups, and more.
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AI and cloud bills are rising
At this point, three-quarters (76%) of large enterprises now spend upwards of $5 million in the cloud each month, while 73% operate multicloud environments, where they pay for the cloud and the hardware that goes into their on-prem environments.
“We’ve moved beyond treating the cloud as a cost-cutting exercise and now see it as the essential foundation for growth and the engine that allows us to turn ideas into global products,” wrote CTO Brian Shannon.
The report’s data also quantifies the dominance of US hyperscalers, with AWS (83%) and Azure (79%) leading far ahead of Google Cloud, which itself is steps ahead of others.
However, things may be changing for the better, with 71% now operating a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE) that increases collaboration between FinOps, business units and Software Assessment Management (SAM) teams.
With a CCOE in motion, companies can benefit from central governance, consistent standards and better cost control, leading to a more unified approach to AI and cloud – reducing costs and eliminating waste.
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