Top Cloud Cost News From July 2025

July brought good news, if you’re in the mood for some fresh new opportunities to learn about cost optimization and streamline your FinOps strategy. Check out these updates, hot off the press:

Enjoy!

Top Cloud Cost Headlines From July 2025

1. Google Cloud announced some improvements to its spend-based committed use discount (CUD) program.

Beginning in January 2026, you’ll be able to access several new changes Google just announced to its CUD program.

Google’s primary goals include increasing flexibility and simplifying billing processes so you can more easily tell how much you’ve saved by using a CUD. You’ll also see updates to product coverage, consumption models, purchasing options, and data exports. The improvements are significant, so check out the full documentation release to get all the details if you’re a GCP user.

If you’re eager to start taking advantage of all these updates and you don’t want to wait until January, you can opt in now for early access. The option should be under Billing within your account as of July 15.

Once you opt in, the account migration process will begin and you’ll be all set up to start using the new CUD features as they roll out.

2. CloudZero has several events coming up that will have you shaking hands and rubbing elbows with FinOps experts.

If your networking calendar is feeling a little empty for the back half of summer, we’d love for you to join us at one of these events:

Each of these events offers the chance to meet with fellow industry leaders, chat about cost optimization, and learn some valuable FinOps best practices.

Just a note: The Finops & Foodies event would be a perfect complement to your day if you’re planning to attend FinOps X in São Paulo this month. It lines up so well, you’d almost believe we planned it that way…

3. Forbes agrees: Executives must take an interest in cloud cost optimization.

If you spend any time on the CloudZero blog, you’ve probably heard our stance on the importance of involving the whole company — including executives — in cloud cost conversations. In our experience, it’s just as important for executives to understand cloud costs as it is for individual engineers to take ownership of their spend contributions.

That’s why, when we read this Forbes article, our heads started nodding in emphatic agreement.

Too many company leaders still consider cost optimization a problem for lower-level teams. That attitude puts development speed ahead of cost control for short-term gains — but risks a serious lack of efficiency down the line. And if you’ve ever encountered an inefficient cloud-based product, you know how quickly it can erode margins and potentially even sink a company.

We’re currently working on a comprehensive guide executives can use to embed cloud cost efficiency into daily workflows and even weave it into the company culture. If that’s something your company currently struggles with, sign up for email alerts to receive a notification when this guide goes live.

Ready to achieve deep cost visibility and get control over your spending?

The most powerful step you can take to ensure your company’s profitability is to start tracking expenses, resource usage, and unit costs in detail. CloudZero lets you do that automatically, even if you’re starting from zero with tagging strategies and FinOps experience.

to see how total cost control changes everything.

Author: Keith MacKenzie

Keith is CloudZero's Content Marketing Manager with a specialty in topics around FinOps, SaaS, AI, and overall work optimization. He also brings more than a decade's worth of background as an editor and writer in the mainstream media and content marketing industries. He's also been to Chernobyl twice – and (sometimes) still has all his marbles.