Cloud Economics
The Cloud Isn't Inevitable. The Economics Are.
For a decade, the cloud industry sold a simple story: move everything to the cloud, and you'll be faster, cheaper, and more agile. That story had a kernel of truth—and a lot of marketing. This eight-part series digs into the real math behind cloud decisions—the labor multipliers nobody calculates, the egress fees that trap you, the repatriation case studies that challenge the narrative, and the hybrid strategies that actually work. It's not cloud is bad. It's cloud isn't universal. And the sooner your CFO realizes it, the better your margins will look.
The Great Cloud Reckoning: Why Your CFO Is Suddenly Asking Questions
“Cloud reckoning” might sound apocalyptic. It’s not. It’s just maturity. The cloud industry is past the hype phase. Now it’s time for an honest assessment.
Kyle Geisler
TCO: The Three Letters That Will Make or Break Your Cloud Strategy
Your cloud provider’s pricing calculator is like a weather forecast for next month. Technically possible. Practically useless. But here’s the bigger problem: even if the calculator worked, you’re probably using it wrong. You’re comparing monthly cloud bills to something from your accounting department that isn’t actually comparable. You’re looking at
Kyle Geisler
The Talent Paradox: They Promised Us Jetpacks
Cloud-native was supposed to free IT from grunt work. What it delivered was a labor market where your best engineers burn out or get poached. The real question isn’t cloud or not cloud. It’s: where do you actually need a jetpack, and where would a good pair of boots work just fine?
Kyle Geisler
The Hidden Tax: Egress Fees, Reserved Instances, and Other Cloud Surprises
This is part of a series of articles exploring Cloud Economics. The costs and impacts of cloud decisions, told from the perspective of a technology industry veteran. If you want to start at the beginning or see all the related essays, check out the series page. People joke about the
Kyle Geisler
37signals vs. The Cloud: A $10M Case Study in Repatriation
37signals ran the math, did the work, and saved $10 million. The receipts are public. The question now is: are you willing to run the same numbers for your business?
Kyle Geisler
The Discipline Your Cloud Strategy Is Missing
FinOps is the adult conversation your cloud strategy needs. Think of it as couples therapy for IT and Finance. For years, they’ve been talking past each other.
Kyle Geisler