Webinar

Why Your Cloud Bill Keeps Going Up (Even When You're "Optimizing")

September 16, 12:00pm ET

You’ve rightsized workloads. Cleaned up unused resources. Purchased reservations. Improved governance. Maybe you’ve even launched a FinOps initiative.

Yet your cloud bill is still climbing.

The problem may not be that optimization failed.

The problem may be that the business keeps asking IT to do more.

Every year, technology leaders are expected to support more applications, secure more data, enable more automation, integrate more platforms, and now deliver AI initiatives on top of everything else. Optimization reduces the cost of delivering technology. It doesn’t reduce demand for it.

Join Blue Mantis for a thought-provoking discussion on why cloud costs continue rising, even in well-managed environments, and how leading organizations are shifting the conversation from cost reduction to value realization.

In this 45-minute fireside chat, we’ll explore how modern IT leaders are eliminating waste, operationalizing FinOps, governing AI adoption, and most importantly, ensuring technology investments create measurable business outcomes.

What You’ll Walk Away With

Why cloud cost growth is often the result of increasing business demand, not failed optimization
The difference between cost reduction, cost avoidance, and value creation

How leading organizations use FinOps to improve accountability and visibility across cloud investments

Why AI is creating a new generation of cloud spending challenges and opportunities

The role governance plays in turning technology consumption into measurable business value

How to create a “value recapture” strategy that redirects recovered capacity into modernization, security, and innovation initiatives

The metrics CIOs and IT leaders should be tracking beyond the monthly cloud invoice

Who Should Attend

CIOs, CTOs, IT Directors, Infrastructure Leaders, Cloud Architects, FinOps Practitioners, Technology Operations Leaders, and business decision-makers responsible for cloud strategy, technology investments, and digital transformation initiatives.

Key Takeaway

Your cloud bill isn’t necessarily going up because optimization failed. It’s going up because the business keeps asking technology to do more. The real leadership challenge isn’t simply lowering costs. It’s ensuring every dollar spent creates measurable value in return.

Jeff Cratty

Vice President, Cloud & Innovation

As Vice President, Cloud & Innovation, Jeff is responsible for developing the strategy and direction for Blue Mantis’ Advanced Technology practice. Deeply passionate about solving problems for and with his clients, Jeff is currently focused on applying generative AI solutions, including Microsoft CoPilot, to accelerate positive business outcomes as part of an overall IT modernization strategy.

Formerly, Jeff served in leadership positions at SS&C Exe, Abacus Insights, and Veracode, in addition to holding senior technical roles at RSA and Visa.  With over 20 years of experience in multiple technology practices, Jeff has designed, developed, and managed technology solutions and products for some of the most world’s recognized brands.

Jeff holds a B.S. in Computer Science from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.

Josh Morganthall

Microsoft Practice Manager

Blue Mantis’ Microsoft Practice Manager Josh Morganthall has nearly a decade of hands-on experience architecting, deploying, and administering Microsoft Windows, Active Directory, and Azure cloud infrastructure for SMBs and enterprises. Josh attended the University of South Alabama and holds almost a dozen current IT industry certifications specializing in the cloud and virtualization. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn.

Project Glasswing Found Thousands of Zero-Days. Closing It Requires

Trey Bayne

Senior Solution Architect

Trey Bayne is a Senior Solution Architect at Blue Mantis and a business-first technologist with nearly two decades of experience across data analytics, cloud architecture, and advisory services. He has worked with organizations ranging from regional institutions to large enterprises across financial services, insurance, manufacturing, and professional services. At Blue Mantis, Trey helps clients evaluate and implement modern analytics platforms including Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and cloud data architectures, while navigating the legacy constraints and operational realities that come with real organizations. He believes technology should simplify organizations, not complicate them.

State	Types of Residents To Whom The Law Applies	Exceptions For Employment-Related Information
Colorado	An individual who is a Colorado resident acting only in an individual or household context and does not include an individual acting in a commercial or employment context, as a job applicant, or as a beneficiary of someone acting in an employment context.	Data maintained for employment records purposes.
Connecticut	An individual who is a resident of Connecticut and does not include an individual acting in a commercial or employment context or as an employee, owner, director, officer or contractor of a company, partnership, sole proprietorship, nonprofit or government agency whose communications or transactions with us occur solely within the context of that individual’s role with the company, partnership, sole proprietorship, nonprofit or government agency.	Data processed or maintained in the course of an individual applying to, being employed by, or acting as an agent or independent contractor, to the extent that the data is collected and used within the context of that role.
Montana	An individual who is a resident of Montana and does not include an individual acting in a commercial or employment context or as an employee, owner, director, officer, or contractor of a company, partnership, sole proprietorship, nonprofit, or government agency whose communications or transactions with the controller occur solely within the context of that individual’s role with the company, partnership, sole proprietorship, nonprofit, or government agency.	Data processed or maintained in the course of an individual applying to, being employed by, or acting as an agent or independent contractor, to the extent that the data is collected and used within the context of that role.
Oregon	A natural person who resides in Oregon and acts in any capacity other than in a commercial or employment context.	Information processed or maintained solely in connection with, and for the purpose of, enabling an individual’s employment or application for employment; an individual’s ownership of, or function as a director or officer of, a business entity; or an individual’s contractual relationship with a business entity.
Texas	An individual who is a resident of Texas acting only in an individual or household context and does not include an individual acting in a commercial or employment context.	Data processed or maintained in the course of an individual applying to, being employed by, or acting as an agent or independent contractor, to the extent that the data is collected and used within the context of that role.
Utah	An individual who is a resident of Utah acting in an individual or household context and does not include an individual acting in an employment or commercial context.	Data processed or maintained in the course of an individual applying to, being employed by, or acting as an agent or independent contractor, to the extent the collection and use of the data are related to the individual’s role.
Virginia	A natural person who is a resident of Virginia acting only in an individual or household context and does not include a natural person acting in a commercial or employment context.	Data processed or maintained in the course of an individual applying to, being employed by, or acting as an agent or independent contractor, to the extent that the data is collected and used within the context of that role.

By Need

By Industry

By Function

Learn

FEatured Resource

AI Is Already Being Used Against You. Here's How to Fight Back.

Company

FEatured News

Blue Mantis Earns Top 20 Ranking on 2026 MSP 501—Tech Industry’s Most Prestigious List of Global Managed Service Providers