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Getting Started

Welcome to Spend Shrink—your ultimate AWS spend optimization and cost-saving tool. This guide provides an overview of the application's main pages and features to help you get started quickly.


  1. Home Dashboard
  2. AWS Account Overview
  3. Savings Opportunities
  4. Free Tier vs. Paid Tier

Home Dashboard

Overview

The Home Dashboard is the central hub of Spend Shrink, providing an at-a-glance summary of your AWS accounts' spending and potential savings.

Key Features

  • Spend Summary: View your total AWS spend trends and metrics in one place.
  • Anomaly Detection: Automatically highlights unusual spending patterns for investigation. (Note: Anomalies are shown but email alerts are not available yet.)
  • Sneak Peek of Savings Opportunities: Free Tier users can see anonymized savings opportunities throughout all owned AWS accounts directly on the dashboard, including estimated potential savings values, to understand the value Spend Shrink provides.
  • Top Savings Opportunities: Paid Tier users can see the highest impact savings opportunities directly on the dashboard throughout all owned AWS accounts.
  • Quick Navigation: Access detailed account-specific pages or explore the full functionality with the paid tier.

AWS Account Overview

Overview

Each AWS account has a dedicated Account Overview page that provides detailed insights into account-specific spending and trends.

Key Features

  • Spending Breakdown: See how your AWS spend is distributed across services, regions, and time periods.
  • Historical Trends: Track past spending to identify patterns or inefficiencies.
  • Anomaly Detection: Quickly spot unexpected spikes or drops in spending, empowering proactive management.

Savings Opportunities

Overview

The Savings Opportunities page provides detailed, actionable recommendations to help you optimize your AWS costs. This feature is available exclusively to Paid Tier users.

Key Features

  • Opportunity Details: Each opportunity is displayed with specific, detailed information, including potential savings and the AWS services involved.
  • Helpful Information: Opportunities may include additional context, such as performance impacts or usage considerations.
  • Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Examples: For certain recommendations, Spend Shrink includes pre-built IaC examples to help you implement optimizations efficiently.
  • Prioritized by Value: Opportunities are sorted by projected potential savings, ensuring that the highest-impact recommendations are surfaced first.

(Note: The Savings Opportunities page is only accessible in the Paid Tier. Free Tier users can preview anonymized potential opportunities on the Home Dashboard.)


Free Tier vs. Paid Tier

Free Tier

  • Home Dashboard Access: View aggregate spend metrics and anomaly detection results.
  • Account Overview Pages: Gain insight into account-specific spending trends and historical data.
  • Sneak Peek of Savings Opportunities: View anonymized savings opportunities with estimated values on the Home Dashboard.
  • Full Savings Opportunities Page: Unlock detailed recommendations, helpful context, and IaC examples for implementing optimizations.

Ready to Get Started?

To begin using Spend Shrink:

  1. Connect Your AWS Accounts: Follow the in-app wizard on the AWS accounts page to securely integrate your AWS accounts.

  2. Explore the Dashboard: Start with the Home Dashboard to view spend summaries and sneak peeks at savings opportunities.

  3. Upgrade for Full Access: Unlock the full potential of Spend Shrink's optimization tools by subscribing to the Paid Tier.

For additional help, contact us at support@spendshrink.com.

Let’s start shrinking your AWS spend today!