AWS Cloud Cost Optimization for Iute Group AS - Case Study

• Client: Iute Group AS
• Industry: FinTech / Consumer Finance
• Location: Europe
• Company size: 1,000+ employees
• Cloud Stack: AWS EC2, Databases, Savings Plans, AWS Billing & Budgets

Iute Group AS is a fast-growing international fintech group operating across multiple European markets. Its core platforms run entirely on AWS, supporting strict requirements for scalability, availability, and regulatory compliance.

As the organization scaled, AWS consumption increased steadily across compute, databases, and analytics. While the infrastructure was stable and production-ready, a growing share of cloud spend came from On-Demand usage and legacy pricing commitments – creating a clear opportunity for structured cost optimization.

Zetta Systems was engaged to deliver measurable AWS cost savings without impacting performance, security, or future architectural flexibility.

The AWS environment reflected a typical mature fintech setup:

• Mixed use of On-Demand, Savings Plans, and Reservations.
• Multiple legacy EC2 Instance Savings Plans with uneven utilization.
• Stable, predictable database and analytics workloads.
• Partially uncovered EC2 workloads generating On-Demand spend.
• AWS Budgets and alerts no longer aligned with current usage and commitments.

The challenge was not technical debt, but how to maximize savings from stable workloads while avoiding over-commitment.

Zetta Systems applied a FinOps-driven approach based on historical usage analysis, AWS native recommendations, and workload stability. The focus was on sustainable savings rather than aggressive short-term cost cutting.

1. Compute Savings Plans Optimization

Iute Group transitioned from fragmented EC2 Instance Savings Plans to a centralized Compute Savings Plan, allowing legacy instance-based plans to expire.

• Term: 1 year (Dec 2025 – Dec 2026)
• Utilization: ~99%
• Estimated monthly savings: ~10% reduction of compute spend.
• Annualized impact: ~11% improvement in overall EC2 cost efficiency.

This approach increased flexibility while maintaining high utilization and consistent savings.

2. Savings Plans Utilization & Coverage

Long-term utilization analysis showed:

• Compute Savings Plan utilization: ~99%
• Overall Savings Plans coverage: ~47% of compute workloads.
• Legacy EC2 Instance Savings Plans delivered mixed results, reinforcing the strategic shift toward Compute Savings Plans.

3. Database Reservations

Iute Group already had a mature reservation strategy for its database workloads, with stable and predictable usage patterns.

• Active reservations: Multiple long-term commitments in place.
• Current impact: Delivering consistent, recurring savings on database-related infrastructure.
• Optimization potential: Zetta Systems identified additional reservation opportunities that could deliver an estimated ~25% further savings on uncovered database workloads.

These improvements were aligned with the overall FinOps strategy – prioritizing predictable savings while maintaining operational flexibility.

4. Additional EC2 Optimization Opportunities

Zetta Systems identified further EC2 reservation opportunities:

• Potential additional savings: ~17% vs On-Demand for selected stable workloads.

These were intentionally deferred, as Compute Savings Plans already provided partial coverage with greater flexibility.

5. Cost Governance & Budgets

Existing AWS Budgets and alerts were no longer aligned with current consumption and commitments. Zetta Systems recommended rebuilding budgets based on real baseline usage, introducing proactive alerts, and improving cost visibility by environment and team.

The engagement delivered immediate and measurable outcomes:

• ~10% recurring monthly savings on EC2 workloads.
• ~11% annualized savings on total compute spend.
• ~99% utilization of the active Compute Savings Plan.
• ~47% Savings Plans coverage across compute workloads.
• Improved cost predictability.
• No impact on performance, scalability, or compliance.

AWS recommendations indicate an additional ~12% potential savings to be realized gradually through further optimization.

• Gradually increase Savings Plans coverage for uncovered EC2 workloads.
• Apply additional Database reservations where usage is stable.
• Selectively use EC2 Reserved Instances for long-running workloads.
• Rebuild AWS Budgets and anomaly detection alerts.
• Establish recurring FinOps reviews.

Zetta Systems helps organizations reduce cloud costs not by cutting corners, but by applying disciplined FinOps practices.

We help clients:

• Identify real, measurable cloud savings.
• Select the right AWS pricing and commitment models.
• Balance cost efficiency with architectural flexibility.
• Build sustainable cloud cost governance.

As partners of AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, we work closely with engineering and finance teams to turn cloud spending into a controlled and predictable business variable.