Unlocking Up to 57% in AWS Discounts – Yes, You Can Do It Yourself

Inspired by insights from Morfless

Cloud costs are one of the fastest-growing line items in a technology budget – and often one of the least understood. If you are using AWS, you are probably aware of Reserved Instances and Savings Plans. But are you confident that you are truly optimising what you spend?

A recent Morfless article breaks down how companies can unlock up to 57% in AWS savings – and the best part is, you can do it yourself.

Why This Matters

At StackUp, we benchmark technology functions across multiple dimensions, including cloud spend efficiency. Time and again, we see organisations leaving significant savings on the table simply because they are not set up to manage AWS spend proactively. That is why this framework from Morfless resonated so strongly with us – it is practical, detailed, and aligned with how high-performing tech teams operate.

The TL;DR from Morfless

Here is a quick summary of how Morfless suggests you can unlock serious AWS discounts:

Understand Your Workloads Know what workloads are running where, when, and why. If you do not have visibility into usage patterns, you cannot optimise.

Use Savings Plans & Reserved Instances Properly Committing to usage can feel risky – but if you do it with the right analysis, it is a guaranteed win. Morfless walks through how to approach this with confidence.

Use the AWS Pricing Calculator Seems simple, but many teams are not using the calculator to test scenarios and understand trade-offs.

Layer on Spot Instances (Where It Makes Sense) For the right workloads, Spot Instances can add further savings – and they are not just for big tech companies.

Implement Governance & Alerts Set up the right guardrails so you are not surprised by unexpected charges. Automation is your friend here.

Review Regularly What works now may not work in six months. Make cloud cost reviews part of your regular technology cadence.

StackUp's Perspective

Optimising AWS spend is not just about saving money – it is about building a mature, data-driven technology function. When we assess technology capability at StackUp, cost management is one of the first areas we look at. Why? Because it is measurable, impactful, and often overlooked.

The Morfless framework is a great starting point for any team looking to take control of their AWS costs. Even better – you do not need third-party tools or expensive consultants to get started.

Want to Know Where You Stand?

If you are not sure how your cloud spend management stacks up, StackUp can help. Our assessment identifies gaps, benchmarks you against peers, and gives you actionable recommendations – including in areas like cloud cost optimisation.

See how your technology function compares, and where you can improve – including your approach to cloud spend.