Customer Stories
Cutting Cloud Costs with Smarter Data Management
Problem
As part of a new cost savings initiative for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the eSimplicity team identified rapidly growing AWS S3 storage costs driven by inactive and legacy data. More than half of the platform’s 3.4PB of stored data consisted of rarely accessed backups, old versions, failed uploads, and data from offboarded organizations that remained in the most expensive storage tier without operational value.
Solution
eSimplicity analyzed CMS storage usage patterns and put rules in place to move, archive, or delete files so storage costs matched the value of the data. This data-driven approach cut unnecessary cloud spend while keeping critical data accessible.
Outcomes
The initiative created a clear path to long-term savings by reducing unused storage and optimizing storage tiers. Once implemented, the changes are projected to save CMS approximately $600k per year while improving cost transparency, governance, and overall operational efficiency.
MEASURABLE IMPACT
We produce results for our customers
Estimated annual savings:
During the rollout of a newly developed cost savings feature, the Quality Data and Analytics Support (QDAS) program team at CMS uncovered inefficiencies in how data was being stored in AWS S3. Approximately 60% of the platform’s 3.4PB of data consisted of legacy, non-current or backup versions that were rarely accessed but stored in S3 Standard, the most expensive storage tier.
In addition, more than 38TB of unfinished uploads and leftover data from offboarded organizations remained active without a defined business purpose. These issues collectively contributed to unnecessary storage costs and hid where storage could be optimized for cost and efficiency.
Process & Solution
eSimplicity conducted a detailed analysis of storage usage and access patterns to determine the most effective optimization strategy. Lifecycle policies were designed to automatically transition non-current data to lower-cost storage tiers while maintaining accessibility if needed.
The team introduced automated deletion rules to remove failed multipart uploads, reclaiming wasted storage space. Data from offboarded organizations was identified, archived to long-term storage, and outdated versions were removed to eliminate unnecessary costs. eSimplicity reviewed storage usage and validated tier choices to ensure the most cost-effective options were being used for how the data is accessed. This structured, policy-driven approach ensured cost savings without compromising data availability, governance, or compliance requirements for CMS.
Outcomes
The lifecycle changes are expected to significantly reduce ongoing storage costs while establishing a sustainable model for future data growth. The platform gains improved cost visibility, stronger storage governance, and automated controls that prevent waste from accumulating over time.
In addition to cost savings, the QDAS team can now proactively manage data value and storage decisions, reinforcing long-term operational efficiency and fiscal responsibility.
