Fears rising cloud costs could mean job losses

A new survey of 1,000 finance and engineering professionals in the US reveals that 58 percent of respondents say their cloud costs are too high.

The study from CloudZero also shows that 75 percent of employees say they fear losing their jobs if cloud costs abruptly surge by 50 percent or more. This unease is particularly heightened among employees at larger companies, with 100 percent of those at organizations with over 9,000 personnel believing their positions are vulnerable.

In addition it finds that 89 percent of respondents say that lack of cloud cost visibility has an impact on their ability to carry out their role, with just under half reporting a significant impact. Looked at by role, 22 percent of engineers say cloud costs cause high levels of disruption to their work (the equivalent of a full sprint), doubling since 2022 (11 percent). Meanwhile, 23 percent of finance professionals report high levels of disruption, suggesting this is an equal problem for both teams.

The survey data reveals that a strong culture of cost ownership does lead to more efficient cloud spend though, with 81 percent of respondents stating their cloud costs are about where they should be when engineering has some level of ownership. Another 68 percent say they can accurately align costs to business at more than double the rate when engineers take ownership.

Bill Buckley, senior vice president of engineering at CloudZero says:

Out-of-control cloud costs foreground the need for better visibility and company-wide initiatives for cloud cost management. Our study has proven that businesses must empower engineering with ownership of cloud costs as it is clear that it emerges as a key driving factor for better cost management and the alignment of priorities between engineering and finance teams.

The data has shown that when engineering does take ownership of cloud costs, businesses gain a clearer understanding of costs, leading to improved reporting accuracy and the alignment of engineering and finance teams. The shift fosters increased business and job confidence and improved efficiency.

The full report is on the CloudZero site.

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