**Mike Julian**  
February 18, 2026

## [FinOps Is Solving the Wrong Problem](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/finops-is-solving-the-wrong-problem/)

We’ve long been known for our hot takes on cloud at Duckbill, and here’s the hottest one: the cloud isn’t expensive. “Expensive” implies a judgment, a comparison. If cloud is expensive, what’s it expensive compared to? Every argument we’ve heard is one considered in isolation, rather than in the full context of the business. Cloud [...]

**Mike Julian**  
November 18, 2025

## [Skyway: Cloud cost management for the 9-figure club](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/skyway-cloud-cost-management-for-the-9-figure-club/)

Introducing Skyway: contract management for enterprise cloud spend. Built by the team overseeing tens-of-billions in enterprise cloud spend.

**Mike Julian**  
June 9, 2025

## [What To Do When You’re Underwater on Your AWS EDP](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/what-to-do-when-underwater-on-aws-edp/)

Underwater? Let’s go swimming. You have options…

**Mike Julian**  
September 26, 2024

## [The Duckbill Guide to AWS Reserved Instances](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/the-duckbill-guide-to-aws-reserved-instances/)

We’re sharing the must-know facts and insights about RIs based on our extensive experience fixing our clients’ horrifying AWS bills through our work here at The Duckbill Group. In this article, you’ll learn what RIs are, how to pay for them, how they’re applied, and interesting edge cases.

**Mike Julian**  
September 26, 2024

## [The Duckbill Guide to AWS Savings Plans](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/the-duckbill-guide-to-aws-savings-plans/)

We’re sharing what we’ve learned about SPs based on The Duckbill Group’s extensive experience fixing our clients’ horrifying AWS bills. In this article, you’ll learn what SPs are, how to pay for them, and how they’re applied.

**Mike Julian**  
November 11, 2023

## [Cloud Cost Compass: Duckbill’s FinOps Maturity Assessment](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/cloud-cost-compass-duckbills-finops-maturity-assessment/)

Duckbill’s FinOps maturity assessment methodology.

**Mike Julian**  
September 26, 2023

## [Overhauling AWS account access with Terraform, Granted, and GitOps](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/overhauling-aws-account-access-with-terraform-granted-and-gitops/)

Duckbill breaks down their method of accessing thousands of client AWS accounts in a way that preserves ease-of-access, maintains data confidentiality, and still providing all the permissions needed.

**Mike Julian**  
September 22, 2023

## [A Simple, Yet Effective Cost Optimization Framework](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/a-simple-yet-effective-cost-optimization-framework/)

When Corey and I started The Duckbill Group in 2019, I sat down with Corey and asked him to braindump everything he looks at when assessing a client’s AWS spend in the first pass. I then came up with a simple framework that’s easy to memorize and still serves us today. Step 1: Turn that [...]

**Mike Julian**  
June 30, 2023

## [Should I Purchase AWS Through a Reseller?](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/should-i-purchase-aws-through-a-reseller/)

There are multiple good reasons to purchase AWS through a reseller — and a couple big reasons why you shouldn’t.

**Mike Julian**  
June 29, 2023

## [Why Benchmarks Miss The Mark for AWS Spend](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/why-benchmarks-miss-the-mark-for-aws-spend/)

How much should I be spending on an AWS service? External benchmarks for AWS spending and usage aren’t as useful as you might think.

**Mike Julian**  
May 23, 2023

## [What’s the Difference Between an EDP and a PPA?](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/whats-the-difference-between-an-edp-and-a-ppa/)

What’s the Difference Between an EDP and a PPA?

Tl;dr Nothing, they’re functionally the same thing.

**Mike Julian**  
October 18, 2022

## [Why Cloud Finance Is Broken and Ineffective](https://www.duckbillhq.com/blog/why-cloud-finance-is-broken-and-ineffective/)

Cloud finance is more “cloud” than “finance.” This fundamental misunderstanding leads to very ineffective cloud finance efforts. Here’s how to fix them.