Last month was certainly eventful. (If you use AWS or Azure, you probably already know what we’re talking about). But in case you missed it, here are the must-see headlines from October 2025:
- AWS and Azure outages gave users a big scare just in time for Halloween.
- Enterprises say hidden cloud storage and transfer costs are a top obstacle.
- Your AI provider bills are about to get more complicated — and probably bigger.
- There are three great opportunities to network and learn more about FinOps coming up in November.
Stay present with the news below!
Top Cloud Cost Headlines From October 2025
1. Cloud provider outages sparked some major concerns this past month
On October 20, AWS reported disruptions that brought down major services, apps, and enterprise systems for around fifteen hours. Just nine days later, Microsoft Azure also experienced a huge outage that interrupted government services, airlines, and other critical infrastructure.
Though these incidents were reportedly unrelated, they highlight how impactful even a few hours of downtime can be. Numerous businesses faced lost revenue and damaged reputations in the aftermath.
While you can’t plan for every scenario, we do recommend acknowledging these incidents as a reminder of what can go wrong. As you build your cloud budgets, factor in the costs of unexpected downtime so you have a healthy buffer if the worst should happen.
If possible, budget for extra backup systems, even if it means paying extra to have your data secured across multiple cloud environments.
2. Hidden cloud storage costs have ballooned into an almost universal problem for enterprises
Speaking of multi-cloud environments…
Unfortunately, the costs associated with transferring data from one provider to another are steep. In a recent survey, 95% of companies say they’ve faced unexpected cloud storage charges, in large part due to egress fees. Additionally, 58% of respondents said their biggest obstacle in using multi-cloud systems is the cost of transferring and accessing data.
If you use more than one cloud provider, this probably isn’t shocking news to you. Chances are, you face very few scenarios where technological capability is your limiting factor. The vast majority of the time, costs are the problem.
All this boils down to the fact that in today’s cloud world, you can either have backups and redundancies or you can keep data storage costs low. That means it’s all the more important to use a cost management system that lets you allocate every dollar and find the budgetary wiggle room to make sure your bases are covered in case of downtime.
3. More than half of AI vendors are considering changing their pricing structures
If you don’t yet have cloud cost management software, now is the time to take the leap.
About 70% of tech vendors are losing profits due to rising cloud and AI costs, and 52% plan to change their pricing structures to compensate. Several say they aim to implement more usage-based pricing rather than fixed subscription models.
That means your cloud bill could become more complex in the near future. If you’ve been paying a flat fee for subscriptions or per-user, you may need to get used to tracking your usage costs instead.
Luckily, you can do that easily with a platform like CloudZero.
Events to watch for in November
Ready for some good news after all that?
You can take part in two educational FinOps Foundation meetings from the comfort of your cozy office.
- On Nov. 13, there will be a virtual summit on the topic of Optimizing Across Cloud, Data Platform, and AI Ecosystems.
- On the 18th, you can join the Building a Culture of FinOps Learning webinar to learn new techniques to get your team on board with FinOps.
Sign up now to secure your spots!
You’ll also have the opportunity to meet some of our CloudZero team in person at KubeCon in Atlanta from November 10-13. Find us at booth 751 if you’d like to stop by and say hi!
Stay In Control Of Your Costs With CloudZero
Ballooning AI costs, egress fees, and hidden storage costs are unfortunate, but they don’t have to erode your margins or derail your whole month.
With CloudZero, you can allocate every dollar to keep an eye on your usage costs, find room in the budget to build in backups, and plan for other costs that would have otherwise come as a total shock.
Instead of dreading the arrival of your next cloud bill, 
and start reining in those errant costs.
The Cloud Cost Playbook
The step-by-step guide to cost maturity
