Today we tackle the biggest misconception in enterprise IT: that moving to cloud automatically saves money. Chris from EPI-USE explains why treating cloud like "just another data center" becomes expensive, and how strategic assessment before migration prevents costly surprises.Hosted by Jon Myer → The Jon Myer Podcast | Recorded at AWS re:Invent 2025Key Topics Discussed:✅ Why 20-30% waste is typical (sometimes 60-70% in extreme cases)✅ WHALE Assessment: 2-week timeline, minimal client effort, AWS-funded✅ Real savings: Hundreds of thousands annually (30-40% reductions)✅ On-prem pays for capacity; cloud pays for provisioning—critical shift✅ AMD Epic processors: 11-15% efficiency gains without re-architecting✅ T-shirt sizing mistakes: Developers over-provisioning based on on-prem thinking✅ Finding forgotten NT4 systems and reducing footprint pre-migration✅ Processor flexibility: Last year Intel, this year AMD—change annually✅ Cloud Center of Excellence: Essential for guiding decisions✅ Not "Can it move?" but "When can it move?"—5-10 year strategic roadmapYouTube Timeline:0:00 - Welcome & Introduction1:05 - Why cloud migration doesn't automatically mean savings2:11 - Lift-and-shift requires immediate post-migration plan3:05 - Not everything should migrate (legacy, proprietary systems)3:53 - How much waste exists in pre-migration environments?5:10 - T-shirt sizing mistakes and over-provisioning6:36 - Pre-migration assessment: Reducing footprint before moving7:21 - Finding forgotten NT4 systems (turn it off, see who screams)9:03 - What is the WHALE Assessment?9:49 - Why AWS funds assessments that reduce spend10:40 - Timeline: 2 weeks, minimal client effort11:40 - Real savings: Hundreds of thousands annually (30-40%)12:37 - Optimization without re-architecting applications13:28 - AMD Epic processors: 11% efficiency gains generation-to-generation15:18 - Real-world examples: Switching processor types17:14 - Education gap: People forget about EC2 optimization18:49 - Cloud flexibility: Change processor types monthly if needed19:30 - How to get started with EPI-USE20:27 - Closing thoughts & thank you🔔 Don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification 🔔 ✔ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/jonmyer/?sub_confirmation=1📱 Social Media Twitter: https://twitter.com/_JonMyerWebsite: https://jonmyer.comLinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-myer/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0wjJzdIwctq4o4pTXM2KSFLike my sounds? Here's my audio source: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/fj9o9k#aws #awscloud #podcast #podcasting #costoptimization #finops #cloudcost #cloudoptimization