Why
Visibility without actionable optimisation data is only half the story. Dashboards that surface concrete savings opportunities — rightsizing candidates, idle resources, commitment coverage gaps — translate cost data into action. Without dedicated optimisation views, recommendations sit unread in provider portals and savings potential remains unrealised.
What
Build two dashboards: an Optimisation Opportunities view (what should we fix?) and a Savings Leaderboard (who is acting?). Together they create the feedback loop from identification to execution.
How
Build Dashboard 3: Optimisation Opportunities
Purpose: Surface actionable savings and track implementation.
Data sources per provider:
| Source | AWS | Azure | GCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rightsizing | Compute Optimizer API | Azure Advisor API | Recommender API |
| Idle resources | Trusted Advisor / CUR query | Advisor | Recommender |
| Commitment coverage | Cost Explorer API | Cost Management API | CUD reports / BigQuery |
Key widgets: Total identified savings ($), savings by category (rightsize / idle / commit / schedule), savings by team / application, implementation rate (% of recommendations actioned), age of oldest unactioned recommendation.
For AWS, the Trusted Advisor Organisational View (TAO) dashboard from CID provides a pre-built starting point.
Build Dashboard 4: Savings Leaderboard
Purpose: Gamify implementation of cost-saving recommendations. Create healthy competition between teams.
Key widgets:
| Widget | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Total Org Savings | Monthly realised savings with trend |
| Team Rankings | Sorted by implementation % (identified vs done) |
| Biggest Win This Month | Spotlight: team, action, monthly saving |
| Opportunity Backlog | Per-team bar: implemented vs remaining |
| Cost-Saving Burn Down | Treemap of savings per application |
Data flow: Cloud advisor APIs (identified savings) + ITSM ticket status API (implementation status) + billing data (verified savings post-implementation).
Implementation % = SUM(savings where status=done) / SUM(all identified savings) per team.
Connect to ITSM
The leaderboard depends on knowing which recommendations have been implemented. Connect your ticketing system (ServiceNow, Jira, Linear) to pull: ticket_id, team, recommendation_type, estimated_savings, status, date_completed.
Deliverable Checklist
- Cloud advisor APIs connected (per provider)
- Dashboard 3 (Optimisation Opportunities) live
- Dashboard 4 (Savings Leaderboard) live
- ITSM integration for ticket status operational
- Monthly leaderboard reset cadence established
- Refresh cadence: weekly for recommendations, daily for spend