Understanding and managing your AWS spending helps you to understand your cloud environment. In this article, we’ll explore different software tools: AWS Cost Explorer, an AWS native solution, and Stratusphere™, an independent software created by AWS experts.
Stratusphere™ is a comprehensive FinOps software. It has a unique approach to cost optimization, with prioritized action based on the level of effort and impact. With this approach, you get easily actionable insights. Stratusphere™ is a solution that provides visibility across multiple AWS accounts at once.
AWS Cost Explorer is a native Amazon tool. It focuses on visualizing and understanding your AWS spending. It looks at past and present costs and shows you predictive future spending.
It gives you granular detail by filtering and creating personalized dashboards.
The biggest difference between the two tools is that AWS Cost Explorer provides you with your past and future spending. Stratusphere™, on the other hand, gives you an understanding of your spending and how to optimize it.
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Stratusphere™ FinOps |
AWS Cost Explorer |
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Reporting data |
View unlimited data across accounts with multiple levels of customization, including Level of Effort (which changes are easiest to make) |
View the last 13 months and predictive spending for the next 12 months |
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Set-Up Requirements |
Immediately accessible within AWS Requires an AWS Administrator to access Stratusphere and 24 hours for the first dashboard data to populate |
Enable Cost Explorer in the AWS Cost Management console |
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Cost |
Paid plan with a 30-day free trial |
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Pros |
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Cons |
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There are two key differences between Stratusphere™ and AWS Cost Explorer:
AWS Cost Explorer provides you with the information for you to identify cost optimization opportunities. It provides you with color-coded target utilization in your account.
Whereas Stratusphere tells you exactly where costs can be optimized, and gives you recommendations in order of effort it will take.
AWS Cost Explorer can be activated for any AWS account. So if you want to keep a close eye on spending, it’s a good tool to use.
Stratusphere provides clarity to complex AWS environments. It was made to give Privaty Equity firms and large enterprises with multi-account AWS users visibility. You gain a comprehensive shared view of AWS cloud cost across all environments in your portfolio. With this understanding you gain control over all cloud environments, enhancing trust, efficiency, and performance.
The only native way to get Cost and Usage Reports (CUR)
Predictive analytics on spending
Customizable dashboards and filters
A great deep dive to understand your AWS spending
Unless you pay for hourly updates it only updates every day
Forecasts don’t account for changes
You can only see a 12-month history
It doesn’t offer cost-reduction suggestions
Gain a full understanding and visibility of your entire cloud environment using Stratusphere. Our unique, prioritized insights help you to control your cloud costs.
Book a demo to discover how Stratusphere works and learn how you can revolutionize your AWS strategy!
BONUS: Download Your FinOps Guide to Effective Cloud Cost Optimization Here ⤵️