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IBM AIOps & FinOps at WPP for Cloud Cost Optimization

Client

WPP

Industry

Advertising & Marketing

AI Tech Solution

AIOps & FinOps for Cloud Cost Management

Solution Provider

IBM

Challenge

WPP, the world’s largest marketing services company, manages a massively data-centric business with more than 2,000 offices worldwide. As the company transitioned to a hybrid, multicloud IT model, cloud costs skyrocketed due to fragmented cloud sprawl and a lack of visibility into usage and spend. With hundreds of cloud accounts across AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), WPP struggled to track its total cloud expenditure. IT leaders realized that the company was overprovisioning resources, underutilizing computing power, and incurring excessive costs. The existing manual cost-tracking approach was insufficient to support AI-driven FinOps (Cloud Financial Operations) optimization. WPP required a data-driven AI-powered solution that could: Provide full visibility into cloud costs and resource allocation. Automate real-time AI-driven resource optimization to right-size infrastructure dynamically. Reduce waste and unnecessary spending across multiple cloud environments.

Solution

WPP implemented IBM Apptio Cloudability and IBM Turbonomic, two AI-powered solutions designed to optimize FinOps through real-time analytics and automation. IBM Apptio Cloudability provided complete visibility into 99% of WPP’s cloud usage, allowing teams to track spending across all accounts and identify inefficiencies. By integrating AI-driven analytics, Cloudability enabled WPP’s finance team to detect cost anomalies, optimize resource allocation, and build financial accountability within the organization. IBM Turbonomic was then deployed to automate AI-driven resource optimization. The solution dynamically analyzed cloud workloads and recommended real-time resourcing actions, including automated resizing and decommissioning of underutilized resources. During the proof-of-value phase, Turbonomic automated over 1,100 resource resizing actions, optimizing cloud usage and reducing waste. The Operations team leveraged Turbonomic’s AI-powered sizing recommendations to systematically downsize unnecessary cloud workloads while maintaining performance.

Results

By leveraging IBM’s AI-powered FinOps solutions, WPP successfully optimized cloud costs, increased operational efficiency, and built a culture of financial accountability across IT teams. Within the first three months, WPP saved $2 million by identifying and eliminating wasteful cloud expenditures. The automated AI-powered resource optimization process led to a 30% reduction in yearly cloud spend, preventing unnecessary infrastructure costs. IBM Turbonomic enabled WPP to execute up to 1,000 automated resizing actions per month, significantly improving cloud efficiency. The ability to track, optimize, and automate cloud costs in real-time transformed WPP’s approach to FinOps, allowing IT, finance, and engineering teams to collaborate effectively on cost-saving initiatives. With an AI-driven FinOps strategy, WPP now operates a scalable, cost-efficient cloud environment, ensuring long-term cost savings and optimized resource utilization.

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