Sysdig Inc., the cloud-native application security firm, is extending into the area of cost management with the launch of its new Cost Advisor tool for cloud-based Kubernetes environments.

Announced today, Sysdig Cost Advisor combines cloud cost data with Kubernetes workload data to help teams significantly reduce their cloud service provider bills, in some cases by “hundreds of dollars,” the company said.

Sysdig is best known for its container security tools, which are used for securing containerized environments that host modern software applications that can run on any computing platform. Its first product was Sysdig Monitor, a cloud-native intelligence platform that helps manage large deployments of containers.

These days, though, it’s best known for Sysdig Secure, which detects vulnerabilities by tapping into the data generated by system calls in a container environment. With today’s announcement, it’s expanding into cloud infrastructure security too.

The company said it’s the unique workload usage data generated by Sysdig Monitor that’s used to power its Cost Advisor tool, which can also be used to help allocate Kubernetes costs to different teams that are relying on it.

There’s likely to be big demand for a more efficient Kubernetes cost management tool, Sysdig said. It cites the Cloud Native Computing Foundation’s 2021 Finops for Kubernetes survey that shows how 68% of companies’ Kubernetes costs are rising. That’s likely because 69% of organizations do not have cost monitoring tools in place but rather rely on cost estimates that often go awry.

Sysdig said customers stand to benefit from its Cost Advisor tool in multiple ways, for instance by reducing wasted resources by an average of 40%. Sysdig Cost Advisor does this by combining cost, performance and usage data into a single tool that provides immediate, correlated cost visibility. Then, it can provide intelligent suggestions that could lead to potential savings, such as by confidently making corrections at the source without sacrificing performance.

Users can also set up alerts that warn teams when spending is rising faster than expected, allowing them to take corrective action swiftly.

Other benefits of the tool include greater accountability, Sysdig said. DevOps teams can integrate cost data into a chargeback model, helping them to stay aware of their actual Kubernetes usage and costs. This information can then be used to implement FinOps best practices and create a culture of cost discipline, the company said.

“Managing cloud costs is a critical function of all cloud-native teams, and cost data should be a part of the cloud-native monitoring stack,” said Sysdig Vice President of Engineering and Technology Saro Subbiah. “While containers and Kubernetes enable teams to move fast in the cloud, cost becomes the hardest problem to tackle in these containerized environments. Without this cost data, some teams are losing an equivalent of two to three full-time employees by wasting their money in their cloud spend.”

Image: Sysdig