In the dynamic world of cloud management, automation policies play a vital role in ensuring that organisations not only optimise their cloud spend but also remain compliant and efficient. As a market leading cloud management platform, Flexera One FinOps provides automated reports that help users make informed decisions about cloud resource reservations and usage.

However, as cloud providers like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud frequently update their pricing models and calculation methodologies, it becomes crucial to keep Flexera Automation policies current. This article explores why maintaining up-to-date policies is essential and illustrates the impact of changes in cloud provider calculations with a practical example.

The role of automation policies in Flexera One

Flexera Automation policies are designed to analyse cloud usage patterns and recommend optimal actions—such as right-sizing and purchasing or modifying reservations—to reduce costs and maximise resource efficiency. These policies rely on accurate, up-to-date algorithms and rules that mirror the current logic used by cloud providers.

Cloud provider changes: A moving target

Cloud service providers, including Microsoft Azure, regularly revise their billing structures, reservation flexibility ratios, and calculation methods to reflect changes in their infrastructure or business strategies. These updates can have a significant impact on how reservations are evaluated and optimised.

Example: Microsoft changes reservation flexibility ratio calculations

Consider a scenario where Microsoft Azure updates the way it calculates reservation flexibility ratios—a key metric that influences recommendations for purchasing or exchanging reserved instances. For instance, Microsoft may adjust the ratio to account for new instance families, pricing tiers, or regional availability. When such a change occurs, Flexera quickly updates its recommendation policies to align with the new provider logic, ensuring that future recommendations are based on the most accurate and current data available.

Read more: Upcoming changes to instance size flexibility ratios for Azure Reservations

The risk of outdated policies

While Flexera's underlying recommendation engine may be updated to reflect provider changes, the automation policies that have already been applied within your Flexera One environment do not automatically update themselves. If these policies are not reviewed and refreshed in line with the latest provider methodologies, there is a risk that your organisation could:

·     Make suboptimal reservation decisions based on outdated calculations

·     Miss out on cost savings due to inaccurate recommendations

·     Fail to comply with the latest provider requirements or best practices

·     Encounter operational inefficiencies due to misaligned automation triggers

Best practices for maintaining up-to-date policies

·     Regularly Review Policy Updates: Monitor Flexera communications for updates to recommendation logic and automation policies.

·     Consider deploying the “Flexera Automation Outdated Applied Policies” policy to track and be notified about outdated policies.

·     Synchronise Applied Policies: When Flexera updates its recommendation engine, ensure that your applied automation policies in Flexera One are reviewed and updated to match.

·     Test Policy Changes: Before rolling out updates broadly, test revised policies in a controlled environment to verify their effectiveness with the new provider calculations.