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Migration Misfortunes

How FinOps Saved the Day (and costs)�Jonathan White, Cloud FinOps Analyst

University of Central Florida

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An operational framework and cultural practice which maximizes the business value of cloud and technology, enables timely data-driven decision making, and creates financial accountability through collaboration between engineering, finance, and business teams”

FinOps Foundation Technical Advisory Council

January 2025

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University of Central Florida

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FINOPS IN ACTION

1 Background

2 Opportunity

3 Optimization 1.0

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4 Optimization 2.0

5 Current State

6 Post-Mortem

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University of Central Florida

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BACKGROUND

  • May 2023:�Information Security Office (ISO) file server migrated from our colocation datacenter to Microsoft Azure by Accenture
  • Based on existing specifications and pre-migration performance metric reporting, new server provisioned with multiple large premium disks
  • Post-migration Azure cost: $5,500 per month.�99% of this cost was the premium disks (48TB)��and without a FinOps practice at UCF, this would likely be the end of the story

University of Central Florida

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OPPORTUNITY

  • Monthly cloud spend reporting highlighted this server as one of our most expensive resources
  • Detailed cost analysis and comparison against other file servers
  • Performance analysis by cloud engineering team to confirm need for premium disks

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ISO File Server

All Other File Servers

University of Central Florida

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OPTIMIZATION 1.0

  • November 2023:�Met with ISO team to better understand usage
  • Immediate action:�Reconfigure storage from premium to standard
  • Next steps:�Meet in early 2024 to review additional optimizations

used mostly for long-term retention of infrequently-accessed data

� most data requires elevated security permissions to access

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granular permissions required to specific file�shares

traditional file share experience desired to accommodate some less technical users

immediate cost reduction $200 per month

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University of Central Florida

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OPTIMIZATION 2.0

February 2024 �ISO team worked to reduce storage usage from 30TB to 7TB

March 2024�Sample data migrated to Azure Files (PaaS) and usage testing

April 2024�Hot and cool storage accounts created to segment infrequently-accessed data and limit permissions

May 2024�Jump server added to accommodate enhanced security requirements and traditional share folder experience

University of Central Florida

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CURRENT STATE

Monthly TB cost fell by 89% from $184 per TB to $21* per TB

Original file server cost: $5,500 per month

University of Central Florida

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CURRENT STATE

Cost per TB fell by 89% from $184 per TB to $21* per TB

Original file server cost: $5,500 per month

Storage optimized server cost: $3,500 per month

University of Central Florida

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CURRENT STATE

Cost per TB fell by 89% from $184 per TB to $21* per TB

Original file server cost: $5,500 per month

Storage optimized server cost: $3,500 per month

Azure Files paired with jump server:

Total savings through FinOps optimization: $64,500 per year

$150 per month

University of Central Florida

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POST MORTEM

  • Well-paid consultants recommended premium disks for a standard file server
  • Identify and act on optimization opportunities sooner (4+ months)
  • Eliminate jump server in the future (40% of cost)
  • Automatic data tiering instead of separate storage accounts
  • Monthly cost will rise and fluctuate as more files are added
  • Azure Files is the not the cheapest solution, but it best matches customer needs

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University of Central Florida

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None of this happens without a FinOps culture where all stakeholders are encouraged to collaborate and open to support your organization’s FinOps practice

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University of Central Florida

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University of Central Florida

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