By Alexey Baikov
CTO and Co-founder

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Why are companies still wasting millions on Kubernetes? Because they struggle to balance cost and performance. They tweak containers, adjust a pricing model, optimize workload distribution — but it’s never enough. Why? Because they’re tackling only part of the problem.

To truly optimize Kubernetes, you need to address both dimensions simultaneously. Your strategy needs to focus on operational optimization AND financial optimization, treating them as part of the very same process. The problem is, most tools and strategies only focus on one dimension, and they don’t all integrate well with one another, leaving you with inefficiencies and higher costs in the long run.

It’s time to stop playing whack-a-mole and start optimizing Kubernetes the way it was meant to be: holistically. Here’s why the only way to optimize Kubernetes effectively is through a multidimensional approach. This article explores why Zesty’s Multi-Dimensional Automation (MDA) approach is the key to success and how Zesty’s Kubernetes optimization platform, Zesty Kompass, leverages this approach to achieve both performance and cost efficiency.

Operational Optimization: Cut Waste, Unlock Speed, Drive Cost Down

If you’re only focusing on scaling workloads and ignoring the details of how your resources are actually being used, you’re leaving money on the table. Overprovisioned containers, excess replicas, and sluggish node deployments are like an open drain, siphoning away your resources — and your budget.

Operational optimization isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s the foundation of real Kubernetes efficiency. When you rightsize your resources, eliminate unnecessary pod replicas, and scale your pods dynamically, you’re doing more than just keeping things running smoothly — you’re optimizing your entire system for maximum efficiency.

Here’s how Zesty Kompass utilizes the MDA approach to streamline these operational elements and enhance both performance and cost-efficiency:

• Headroom Reduction leverages Zesty’s HiberScale technology’s ability to boot applications 5 times faster, to allow you to handle traffic spikes without keeping a high and pricey CPU buffer, ensuring a new node will be up and running in case of a traffic spike. That way, Kubernetes environments remain lean, dynamically adjusting resources as needed, and avoiding idle capacity and unnecessary costs.

• PV Autoscaling ensures storage capacity dynamically adjusts to match workload demands, preventing bottlenecks without wasting resources.

• Pod Rightsizing automatically adjusts CPU and memory allocations for each pod based on real-time and historical usage, so you’re not over-allocating or underutilizing resources.

When all your operational elements are optimized, things just… work. Workloads start faster, scale more smoothly, and use fewer resources — and that directly reduces costs. Now you’re not just “keeping the lights on,” you’re running at peak efficiency.

Financial Optimization: Smarter Spend Without Sacrificing Performance

There is a common misconception that cutting costs means jeopradizing performance. That may have been true in the past, but modern technologies have already changed this reality.

To optimize Kubernetes costs effectively, it’s crucial to take advantage of the various discount options available. These pricing models, such as Spot Instances and Savings Plans, allow businesses to pay less for the same amount of resources. However, many organizations are wary of these discounts due to concerns over their lack of flexibility, often preferring to cover a substantial portion of their environment with on-demand instances to ensure resource availability. 

That’s where the MDA approach comes in. By integrating advanced technologies like Spot Protection and intelligent Savings Plans management, Kompass ensures that businesses can utilize the most cost-effective pricing models while maintaining the performance and flexibility they need.

Here’s how Kompass makes this happen:

• Spot Protection leverages HiberScale technology to ensure a Spot instance is readily available in case of a sudden termination, dynamically allocating workloads to secure the highest flexibility and minimizing costs for temporary or unpredictable workloads.

• Savings Plans help businesses reserve capacity for steady-state workloads at a lower price, ensuring long-term cost savings while maintaining reliable service.

Unifying Both Is the Only Way to Win

If you’re optimizing operations and costs in silos, you’re doing a disservice to your environment and your engineers, forcing your teams into manual workflows. And you’re falling behind.

Kompass brings everything into one place — combining infrastructure intelligence and cost-awareness into a single, automated loop. By integrating operational optimization (rightsizing, dynamic scaling, PV autoscaling) with financial optimization (Spot Instances, Savings Plans), Kompass ensures that both performance and cost are optimized simultaneously. This MDA approach ensures that K8s environments are always operating in the most efficient way possible, without sacrificing performance or blowing the budget.

The Future of Kubernetes Optimization is Multidimensional

Kubernetes performance and cost are inextricably linked, and it’s time to stop trying to optimize them in isolation. The true path to Kubernetes efficiency lies in addressing both dimensions at once, seamlessly.

Zesty Kompass is a Kubernetes optimization platform designed to bring this multidimensional approach to life — aligning operational performance with financial efficiency in a single, automated platform. By integrating resource optimization, intelligent cost strategies, and real-time scaling, Kompass ensures your Kubernetes environment runs at peak efficiency, without any compromises.

Time to adjust your K8s optimization strategy. Click here to learn how Kompass can help you scale smarter, cut waste, and achieve true Kubernetes efficiency.