Forem: Kay Kleinvogel

Unlock Cloud Savings: 3 Powerful Strategies to Drastically Cut Your Costs up to 92%

Kay Kleinvogel — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 16:01:47 +0000

💸 Tired of sky-high cloud bills? Uncover the secrets to slashing your costs by a whopping 92% with three simple methods:
• Right-Sizing
• Stopping Servers
• Committed Use Discount

🚀 Right Sizing:

When using physical servers, you usually allocate enough headroom for the expected demand.

With the cloud, you can scale based on actual demand.

This allows you to choose a machine size that matches your requirements, resulting in an average savings of 30-50%.

⏲️ Stopping the Servers:

Virtual machines in the cloud don't need to run 24/7.

This allows you to stop them when they're not in use and restart them when needed.

You only pay for the time spent running, leading to a reduction of about 76% for an 8/5 schedule.

💰 Committed Use Discount:

You can commit to a specific usage level and receive a substantial discount on your hourly rate.

You can save up to 46% with Google Cloud by committing to usage.

This is an excellent option for production loads that have consistent requirements.

📈 Example:

$10k/month system
• Use right-sizing, save 40% ($6k).
• Stop servers during off-hours, save 76% ($1.44k).
• Commit to usage, save 46% ($778).
• New monthly cost: $778, a 92% reduction!

🔍 Summary:

Here are the methods we covered to reduce your cloud bill:
• Right Sizing: Reducing the base cost of your virtual machines
• Stopping Servers: Reducing the number of billable hours
• Committed Use Discount: Reducing the cost per billable hour

Beyond cost savings, the cloud offers many other benefits, such as faster innovation and increased productivity.

If you want to learn more about navigating the cloud and overcoming #CloudConfusion, follow me for daily insights and tips into cloud computing

Start Your Cloud Journey: Understanding IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS for Beginners

Kay Kleinvogel — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 21:36:41 +0000

If you're new to cloud computing, you might have heard of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. These acronyms represent the three main service models of cloud computing. Understanding their differences can help you navigate Cloud Confusion and choose the right cloud services.

Infrastructure as a Service provides you with virtual machines.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is the simplest cloud computing model; you're simply renting resources from your provider.

These resources can include virtual machines, storage, and network resources. With IaaS, you can build and manage your infrastructure on top of the cloud provider's infrastructure. Examples of IaaS providers include Google Cloud Compute Engine, Amazon Web Services EC2, and Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines.

Use IaaS when you want to maintain complete control over your infrastructure.

Platform as a Service provides ready-made environments for you to build on.

The Platform as a Service (PaaS) model provides a set-up environment where you don't have to care about infrastructure.

With PaaS, you can focus on developing your applications while the cloud provider manages the underlying infrastructure. You can still use your own tools on top of PaaS to control your environment. Examples of PaaS providers include Google Cloud App Engine, Microsoft Azure App Service, and Salesforce Heroku.

Use PaaS when you want to focus on your application rather than infrastructure.

Software as a Service gives you a final application to use.

SaaS is the model you are most familiar with; you pay for a service and use it online.

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a cloud computing model that provides access to software applications over the Internet. With SaaS, you don't need to install and maintain software on your devices; instead, you can access the software through a web browser or mobile app. Examples of SaaS providers include Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365, and even Netflix is a SaaS.

I recommend a SaaS solution when you want to solve a problem without building your own solution.

Creating Your First Machine in the Cloud in 3 Simple Steps: A Beginner’s Guide

Kay Kleinvogel — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 20:59:19 +0000

Do you want to get your feet wet with the cloud and create your first machine? Creating a machine can seem like a daunting task. However, it's a breeze with Google Cloud Platform (GCP)!

Step 1: Choosing a Cloud Service Provider

Before we get started, there are three main cloud providers: Amazon Web Service, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. These are the providers, whose hardware you will be using in the cloud. While they are all great choices, we will use GCP in this guide. GCP is easy to use and has an excellent free tier to test without any costs. However, feel free to use any provider you prefer.

Step 2: Creating an Account

To create your first machine on GCP, you will need a basic Google Account. When you first sign up, you'll need to provide your mailing address and add a credit card. This is in case you want to use services outside the free tier.

Step 3: Creating Your First Machine

To create your first machine, go to the "Compute Engine" product, which can be found on the main screen or in the side menu. Activate the "Compute Engine API" for your project. Then click "create instance".

Now you need to provide general details about the machine you want to create:

Name: Enter a unique name for your instance.
Region/Zone: Select the physical location of your machine. For this guide, we recommend using us-west1, us-central1, or us-east1 as it they are included in the free tier.
Series and Machine Type: Choose the size of your machine. For beginners, we suggest using an E2 Series and e2-micro type, which is included in the free tier.
Boot Disk: Choose the disk and operating system you want to run. We recommend keeping it at the default Debian GNU/Linux 11.
Firewall: This is used if you want to create a public server. Just keep the default values now.

Once you have filled in all the details, hit the "CREATE" button, and Google will start creating your machine. Within a few minutes, your machine will be ready to use. To access it, click "Connect > SSH," and you can start using your machine immediately.

To delete the machine, select the instance and click "delete" in the top menu. That's it.

Congratulations! You've now created your first machine on GCP, which only took a few minutes. Cloud computing makes it easy to create and remove infrastructure. As you continue to explore GCP, you'll find that it offers a range of powerful tools and services that can help you build and deploy applications quickly and efficiently.

Navigating Cloud Confusion: Understanding Google Cloud for First-Time Users

Kay Kleinvogel — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 15:54:06 +0000

What even is Google Cloud Plattform (GCP)?

Imagine storing your files and running your programs on a computer that's not actually in front of you but somewhere else on the internet.

That's what cloud computing is all about! It lets you use powerful computers in remote locations to do all kinds of cool things without fancy hardware or technical know-how—no need to set up and maintain the machines. Instead, Google takes care of everything.

Instead of focusing on infrastructure, it allows you to focus on your product.

How does renting a server work?

Google has a massive infrastructure and is renting out its servers to you.

You will get a virtual machine, which acts as a regular computer for you. On there, you can do nearly everything that you could do on the PC you work with every day. You can install any tools and software on it and run your product there. And the best thing is that you will only pay for the time you use the infrastructure.

This is called infrastructure as a Service; it's the foundation of cloud computing.

How can I use and benefit from the GCP?

You can use the GCP to build products within days rather than months.

I used cloud computing to create an application recently. Instead of buying, wiring, and setting up a physical server, I could simply click on the GCP interface and have a new server up and running within seconds. I then used a managed database to create a ready-to-connect database that I could use without configuration. After realizing, I didn't need the database anymore, I could delete it with a few clicks, and I don't have any servers lying around vacant now.

Through Google Cloud, I was able to create a working prototype within a few days instead of waiting for weeks to get and set up the infrastructure.

3 Key Insights From Developing on Google Cloud, to Save Time, Money, and Have a Better Product

Kay Kleinvogel — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 13:49:51 +0000

Ever wondered how cloud technology can give your projects a significant boost? Let me share my recent experience with you.

Over the past month, I've been working on my new AI-driven content tool, ai-headline. I've been astounded by the benefits of using Google Cloud Platform during its development. In this article, I'll walk you through three realizations I had during this process, highlighting how the cloud can supercharge your projects, save time, and make your journey much smoother.

So, buckle up and join me as we explore the fantastic world of cloud technology!

Using Managed Services Gives You Time To Focus On Your Application

Managed Services are the way to go if you want to start as quickly as possible.

With traditional infrastructure (and even infrastructure as a service), you need to take care of many details for the system to be up and running. On the other hand, using a managed service takes care of everything and provides a ready-to-use environment for you. A wide range of services can be used, from Cloud Run to fully automated scale and run your container to managed databases you can connect to and use.

So if you don't need specialized solutions or minute control over everything, use a managed service to save time; no one likes to set up and maintain hardware.

Involve Your Users Early To Get Valuable Feedback

You are building for a user, so involve them as early as possible.

I wanted to test my application with users as early as possible. They will have a new view and different ideas and might break the application in a way I did not expect. For this, I had a regular exchange with my testers, asked for their experience, and had some calls to discuss the tool.

Since I was using Google Cloud Run, I could provide them with a public link to the instance of my application, allowing them to connect easily to the application. Cloud Run then started and scaled the application to meet demand.

The tester's feedback allowed me to identify problems quickly, gather new ideas, and improve the application.

The Cloud Allows You To Change Things Up Easily

Most of the time, things will go differently than planned, but the cloud allows you to make changes quickly.

After my prototype, the testers and I identified many bugs, problems, and possibly new features. In the old world, I have to add new servers, install software and spend days setting up everything to implement these new features. But with the cloud, I can start a new cloud-run instance and a managed DB within minutes. And when I didn't need it anymore, I could delete it, and it was gone in seconds, nothing more to worry about.

Ultimately, it's fast to create and destroy infrastructure in the cloud; use this to iterate, test, and explore to find the best fit for your idea.

Easily Add User Authentication to Your Application With Google Cloud (While Preserving Time and Nerves)

Kay Kleinvogel — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 21:59:18 +0000

Tired of dealing with user auth as a dev?

Google Identity Provider gives you a managed solution that can easily be integrated into your application. It even has pre-built components.

Say goodbye to the hassle and hello to more time to focus on your app!

Google Identity Platform Provides a Fully-managed Service

A user authentication service is a massive pain for developers.

It is recommended to use managed services. You don't have to configure or update any server. Everything works as a plug-and-play solution in the background.

This frees you up to concentrate on the important part, your application.

Google Identity Plattform Has Many Providers to Choose

Aside from the traditional email/password combination, numerous other methods exist for logging in or signing up.

Implementing the various providers can be time-consuming and error-prone. With Google Identity Platform, you can easily activate them with a click on the GUI and then connect them with a couple of codes. Besides the standard e-mail or social login, you can also use a phone or an anonymous login.

So, if you want to provide your user with all possible logins, you can.

Google Identity Plattform Provides Pre-build UI Elements

So you want to incorporate social logins into your UI but don't know how?

Don't worry; FirebaseUI includes pre-made UI-Components. Copy the examples from GitHub, connect them to your functions, and you're ready. Because these buttons are widely used online, your users will notice familiar UI-Elements and feel right at home.

This is most likely the quickest way to get started.

5 Must-Read Books for Building Lean Prototypes to Validate Your SaaS Idea 📚💻🚀

Kay Kleinvogel — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 22:22:05 +0000

Ready to validate your SaaS idea? 🚀📈 Here are 5 must-read books on building lean prototypes to help you succeed! 💪📚
Get inspired to create a product that meets customer needs quickly.
Let's build your dream SaaS!

1/5 📚 "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries

• Build, measure, and learn from lean prototypes
• Create a product that meets your customer's needs
• Use continuous innovation to grow
Create a successful SaaS product that meets your customers' needs!

2/5 📚 "Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days" by Jake Knapp

• Rapidly prototype and test with customers
• Use feedback to make data-driven decisions
• Create a product that meets customer needs
Turn your SaaS idea into a success with customer testing!

3/5 📚 "Value Proposition Design" by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur

• Create a value proposition that resonates
• Use prototyping to validate market fit
• Design products customers want
Design a SaaS product your customers will love!

4/5 📚 "Testing Business Ideas" by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur

• Create and test prototypes to refine value prop
• Use feedback to make data-driven decisions
• Validate SaaS ideas before investing
Reduce risk and increase success with prototyping!

5/5 📚 "Lean UX" by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden

• Build and test lean prototypes
• Iterate based on customer feedback
• Create a product that meets customer needs
Build a great SaaS product with customer feedback!

In conclusion, these books 📚 will help you build a successful SaaS product that meets your customers' needs.
Now it's your turn! Let me know how you used prototyping to validate your SaaS idea 💡 in the comments! 💻🚀📈

Google Cloud 101: The 3 Most Common Certificates to Get Started With GCP

Kay Kleinvogel — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 20:40:56 +0000

Are you a consultant that wants to dive into Google Cloud but has no idea where to start? 🌧️

These 3 certificates are most commonly used to prepare for new roles for Google Cloud projects. 🌥️🧑‍🎓

Everyone wants to learn how to use the cloud.

But it's hard to know where to start when there are so many guides, courses, and certifications. As a consultant, I've worked with Google Cloud, and I've seen many of my colleagues get certified. I've seen that most people use three certificates to prepare for an upcoming project.

I've put together a summary of these three certifications so you can quickly and easily choose the one that best fits your needs.

The Cloud Digital leader will provide a general overview of the Cloud for business leaders and newcomers

The Cloud Digital Leader is the easiest and fastest way to get started with Google Cloud!

It gives you a general idea of what can be done and what tools are available. It won't teach you a lot of technical details, but it will give you a quick overview so you can get started with Google Cloud. This lets you "speak cloud" with your technical coworkers and give you a general idea of what to do next.

This certification is good for newcomers who want to get started and for sales teams or business leaders who want to learn about the technology and what it can do.

The Associate Cloud Engineer provides a technical deep-dive into deploying and running a cloud infrastructure

This course is for you if you want a deep dive into the technical side of building and running in the cloud.

The associate cloud engineer is a deep dive into the technical side of Google Cloud. It focuses on building, deploying, and running cloud-based infrastructures. This lets you be part of a cloud developer/operations team and handle the cloud from your console.

This certificate is pretty extensive, so make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare.

The Professional Cloud Architect enables you to design and build systems in the cloud that meet business requirements

With the help of the cloud architect, you can plan and build infrastructure to meet customer needs.

While the Cloud Engineer focuses on building, deploying, and operating cloud infrastructure, this certificate focuses on designing these systems. It will show you how to:

identify business requirements,
turn those needs into technical requirements,
make an architecture for the solution that meets these needs.

Overall, it will give you the skills to run a cloud project from start to finish.

3 Profound Mistakes Young Consultants Should Avoid at the Beginning of Their Career

Kay Kleinvogel — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 22:39:26 +0000

There are three common mistakes that young consultants make that hurt their careers.

I also did them, and after noticing and correcting them, I was able to have much more impact every single they.

So here they are, so you can avoid them:

Mistake #1: Helping out everywhere and not being able to finish it

Too often, young professionals choose to take on every task that comes their way.

They think that it helps them become more established within the company and perform better. But in the end, they only end up overwhelmed and unable to finish everything they agreed to do. Instead, young professionals should only take on as much workload as they can handle. This will lead to them being able to finish all the work, meet the expectations, and establish that they will finish what they started.

This will build rapport faster with their manager rather than taking on all the tasks they can get and not finishing them.

Mistake #2: Only focusing on your project and not trying to help grow your company

A good Consultant helps the company by fulfilling the projects.

But a great consultant helps by growing the business.

Don’t get it confused: fulfilling the project is good, but it’s far from what makes the most difference. Therefore always look for opportunities to help the business grow. For example, you can create templates you and your colleagues can reuse or actively share your knowledge.

Always try to identify and point out opportunities; this is the best way to grow your niche within a company.

Mistake #3: Only working and not having enough time to unwind

We all think we can work all day long.

We all think we have unlimited time and energy to fulfill work and our private life.

But the truth is, we don't.

This is why it's important to set healthy boundaries between work and your private life. You should try to have a healthy balance between them and give yourself enough time to unwind. So try to do something completely different in your spare time that has nothing to do with work.

Achieving this balance will not only allow you for a fulfilled private life, but it will also improve your performance at work.

These Are the 2 Most Difficult Choices I’ve Ever Had to Make Personally to Help Me Grow and Reach My Goals.

Kay Kleinvogel — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 21:54:04 +0000

When I was 22 (and joined the workforce), I decided to focus on myself first.

Of course, whenever we set goals in life, life tests us. And I was no exception.

These were the two most difficult decisions I'd ever had to make in my life, and both directly impacted how I saw my environment and how I framed it in a way that helped me grow.

Hard Choice #1: Engineering your environment by cutting "bad ones"

The environment we live in is what makes us who we are.

Being in an environment that encourages your goals will make achieving them easier, while an environment that discourages them will make it nearly impossible. So after setting my goal to focus on myself and my growth, I thought long and hard about my current environment (including work, activities, and friends). I then tried to assess how they either encouraged or discouraged me from achieving my goals and set my time accordingly.

I focused on the activities that helped me achieve them and cut down on the ones that hindered me.

Spending less time on activities and with people that discouraged my goals was challenging; after all, there was a reason they were in my life. Still, in the end, I chose to immerse myself in environments that assisted me in achieving my goals, making them easier to achieve.

Hard Choice #2: Not dwelling on the past but focusing on the future

We love to focus on the past; it's all we've ever known.

But times are changing, and so are our goals, priorities, and needs. So one day, I decided not to be controlled by my past and actively focus on what was ahead. Judging actions, habits, and even other people not by what they did in the past but by what they are doing now was hard, but it helped me to cut back on some aspects that were not good for me at the time.

It was hard to stop doing these things; after all, I've been doing them my entire life.

But these habits were the ones stopping me from achieving my goals. And by cutting down on them, I had the opportunity to replace them with new habits and friends that helped me achieve my goals. And in the end, it felt freeing, like removing ankle weights to sprint faster than before.

So instead of continuing my past, I tried to actively influence my future.

It was not easy to make these decisions.

But here's the thing:

Being forced to make these choices ultimately got me to where I am today, which is focusing on my goals and my path there. It helped me create an environment that allows me to grow further and move closer to my goal daily.

The 4 Steps to Free Up Your Schedule, and Focus on What You Want to Do, From “The 4-Hour Work Week”.

Kay Kleinvogel — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 09:59:05 +0000

Is your calendar full, and do you want to free up more time?

"The 4-Hour Work Week," by Timothy Ferriss, offers methods for identifying tasks that can be automated or outsourced. By outsourcing or automating tasks that are not crucial to the operation of your company or that are simple for someone else to complete, you can free up time for more important efforts.

Step 1: You need to track your tasks first to optimize them.

You must keep track of your routine tasks to analyze them.

Keeping a task log is one of the key methods Ferriss recommends for identifying tasks that can be automated or outsourced. You can figure out which tasks take up the most time and which can be automated or outsourced by keeping a log of everything you do daily, weekly, or monthly. This is helpful for getting a clear picture of your time management and tracking down the tasks that would be best handled by automation or outsourcing.

You can learn so much from your activities if you track them accurately.

Step 2: Automate or outsource non-core tasks first.

With a complete picture of all your tasks, you can start choosing which ones are good candidates for outsourcing or automation.

To begin with, list non-core tasks. These activities are not crucial to your company's core operations. You can focus on outsourcing or automating these tasks first after identifying them. The time-consuming non-core tasks should receive the majority of attention. You'll be able to accomplish more in less time while also having more freedom and flexibility.

Don't outsource your core tasks because they are the ones that add the most value to your business.

Step 3: Automate or outsource repetitive tasks to save time and money.

We spend a large portion of our day performing the same routine tasks every day.

Routine tasks make excellent candidates for automation or outsourcing. Software can easily automate them, or you can hire a virtual assistant to do the work for you. This can save time and effort and free up your time.

Pushing away these repetitive tasks will also help you focus better, as you can concentrate on the important daily decisions you make.

Step 4: Examine the benefits and costs of outsourcing.

Finally, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing or automating a task is critical.

This entails considering how much time and money you will ultimately save. By sticking to this principle, you can decide which tasks are best kept in-house and which should be outsourced or automated. For instance, it isn't worth automating a task that takes five minutes every month if it takes two months to automate it.

At the end of the day, you should view it through a business lens and ensure that these actions ultimately benefit your company.

3 Small (But Easily Fixable) Mistakes Fresh Consultants Make When Starting Their Career

Kay Kleinvogel — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 23:53:39 +0000

Starting a career as a consultant can be exciting, but it also comes with its own set of challenges.

Fresh consultants often make small mistakes that can significantly impact their success. New consultants can set themselves up for a successful and rewarding career by being aware of these common pitfalls and avoiding them.

Mistake #1: Don't Prepare Enough For Meetings

To have a great meeting, you need to be prepared.

One of the fresh consultants' most common mistakes is not preparing for client meetings properly. This can include not researching the client's industry, not having a clear agenda for the meeting, and not having a solid understanding of the client's needs and goals. Proper preparation is essential for building credibility with clients and demonstrating that you are a professional committed to delivering high-quality work.

So make sure you come prepared to your meetings to make the best of them.

Mistake #2: Not Asking For Feedback

You can't solve every problem alone.

Fresh consultants also make the mistake of not seeking feedback from clients or colleagues. Feedback is essential for growth and improvement and can also help build trust and credibility with clients. By asking for feedback, fresh consultants can gain valuable insights into what they are doing well and where they need to improve.

So get your feedback, and let it guide you.

Mistake #3: Failing To Communicate Effectively

Communication is the key element that ties everything together.

Finally, fresh consultants can struggle to communicate effectively with clients and team members. This can include not being clear in communication, not being responsive to client's needs, and not providing regular updates on progress. Effective communication is essential for building trust and credibility with clients, and it is also crucial for ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget.

Being an effective communicator will also help you become more confident and jumpstart your career.

Conclusion

Starting a career as a consultant can be challenging.

But by being aware of these common mistakes and avoiding them, fresh consultants can set themselves up for success. Proper preparation, seeking feedback, and effective communication are all essential for building credibility, delivering high-quality work, and achieving success as a consultant.