iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 11/03/2026

Tomorrow 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST: Office Hours. Maturing your FinOps practice? Building exec reports that get read? Creating cost awareness without slowing engineering? Let's talk.

duckbillhq.com

Office hours

Duckbill office hours You have questions. We have coffee. Meet our team and get personalized advice on your most pressing cloud cost

000

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 10/03/2026

Thursday 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST: Office Hours. Implementing chargeback? Finding metrics that matter? Getting teams to care about spend? Bring your challenges.

duckbillhq.com

Office hours

Duckbill office hours You have questions. We have coffee. Meet our team and get personalized advice on your most pressing cloud cost

010

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 04/03/2026

Tomorrow 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST. Office Hours. Wrestling with RI strategy? Justifying cloud spend to your CFO? Negotiating an EA? Bring your questions.

duckbillhq.com

Office hours

Duckbill office hours You have questions. We have coffee. Meet our team and get personalized advice on your most pressing cloud cost

000

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 04/03/2026

Thursday 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST: Office Hours. Managing costs across dozens of accounts? What's centralized FinOps look like? Maintaining agility while controlling spend?

duckbillhq.com

Office hours

Duckbill office hours You have questions. We have coffee. Meet our team and get personalized advice on your most pressing cloud cost

000

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 25/02/2026

Thursday 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST: Office Hours. Engineering decisions meet business outcomes. Committed use discounts, multi-account strategy, showback vs chargeback.

duckbillhq.com

Office hours

Duckbill office hours You have questions. We have coffee. Meet our team and get personalized advice on your most pressing cloud cost

000

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 24/02/2026

Office Hours Thursday, 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST. Bring tough AWS billing questions—contracts, cost allocation, business impact. Real answers, zero fluff. No sales pitch.

duckbillhq.com

Office hours

Duckbill office hours You have questions. We have coffee. Meet our team and get personalized advice on your most pressing cloud cost

010

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 04/12/2025

Last day at re:Invent! I'm at booth #1217 through this afternoon if you want to connect.

010

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 04/12/2025

Dealing with complex cloud contracts? I'm at #1217 demoing Skyway. Let's talk. #reInvent #AWSreInvent

000

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 04/12/2025

Remember this night? Atomic Liquors, a packed patio, and re:Invent finally feeling alive again in 2022. We’re running it back on Wednesday. Join us if you’re in town! RSVP: luma.com/5naymwo1

000

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 26/11/2025

If your re:Invent week isn't complete without witnessing Corey Quinn interact with actual humans, this is your moment. Wednesday at 7pm. Corey will be... well, Corey. You can decide whether that's the reason you're attending or the challenge you're embracing. RSVP: luma.com/5naymwo1

luma.com

Last Week in AWS/Duckbill x RedMonk x Heavybit at re:Invent 2025 · Luma

Need to escape the madness on the strip at re:Invent? Join Duckbill, RedMonk, and Heavybit at Atomic Liquors in downtown Vegas. The best party at re:Invent,…

0112

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 26/11/2025

Missed your AWS spend commitment? Don't panic. AWS has a neat trick with a hidden "available balance" that lets you kick that shortfall down the road, as long as you keep signing new deals. Learn how to play their game. #finops

040

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 25/11/2025

Keynote preparation: breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi. Real food, strong coffee, honest conversation about enterprise cloud realities. Join us Tuesday, December 2 before the announcements begin. RSVP: luma.com/npyv1y2k

luma.com

AWS re:Invent Pre-Keynote Breakfast · Luma

No Sales. Just Baguettes, My Cloud, and Mes Amis. Join Corey Quinn (Co-Founder, Duckbill Group), Mike Julian (Co-Founder, Duckbill Group) and Josh Patterson…

010

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 25/11/2025

We're teaming up with RedMonk and Heavybit to host a relaxed off-the-clock gathering during re:Invent. No demos, no presentations—just a chance to connect with people who shape this industry. Whether you're new to the scene or a long-timer, we'd love to see you there. RSVP: luma.com/5naymwo1

luma.com

Last Week in AWS/Duckbill x RedMonk x Heavybit at re:Invent 2025 · Luma

Need to escape the madness on the strip at re:Invent? Join Duckbill, RedMonk, and Heavybit at Atomic Liquors in downtown Vegas. The best party at re:Invent,…

020

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 24/11/2025

Trying to negotiate with AWS when your spend is shrinking? You have the negotiating leverage of a wet napkin. The only winning move is not to play. Let your contract expire, slash your costs, and then come back to the table from a position of power. #finops

020

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 21/11/2025

Is your entire FinOps "team" just one person who looks perpetually haunted? The centralized vs. decentralized debate is a trap. The real answer is a hybrid "Cost Champions" model—like little sleeper agents of fiscal responsibility embedded in your teams. #finops

030

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 20/11/2025

Pre-keynote breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi with @QuinnyPig, @mike_julian, @jpatanooga, and practitioners who know the first question about any new service is always about cost. Tuesday, December 2. Complimentary. Straightforward. RSVP: luma.com/npyv1y2k

luma.com

AWS re:Invent Pre-Keynote Breakfast · Luma

No Sales. Just Baguettes, My Cloud, and Mes Amis. Join Corey Quinn (Co-Founder, Duckbill Group), Mike Julian (Co-Founder, Duckbill Group) and Josh Patterson…

030

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 20/11/2025

Started planning re:Invent? Good. Now plan your exit strategy from the Venetian. We're throwing "the best party at re:Invent" with RedMonk and Heavybit. Wed, Dec 3 @ 7pm at Atomic Liquors. Selfie with Corey or avoid him entirely? Both valid. RSVP: luma.com/5naymwo1

luma.com

Last Week in AWS/Duckbill x RedMonk x Heavybit at re:Invent 2025 · Luma

Need to escape the madness on the strip at re:Invent? Join Duckbill, RedMonk, and Heavybit at Atomic Liquors in downtown Vegas. The best party at re:Invent,…

020

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 24/10/2025

Want to start a FinOps program? The secret first step: do almost nothing. Just measure everything and show people the numbers. Let the gentle, persistent shame of a public dashboard work its magic. You'll be amazed how quickly costs go down. #finops

0202

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 23/10/2025

So you want to know how your cloud spend stacks up against the competition? Great. Do you also want to be profoundly mediocre? Chasing benchmarks strips away everything unique about your business. Compete with the only company that matters: yourself, last month. #finops

120

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 23/10/2025

Should you use an AWS reseller? For the most part, no. But there are exactly three situations where they aren't a complete waste of time. If you're just buying AWS from them and getting nothing else, you've just added a useless—and expensive—middleman. #finops

010

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 21/08/2025

I know I'm supposed to be in Vegas for re:Invent but, uhh, the Excel World Championship Finals are in Vegas at the same time 🤔

190

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 18/08/2025

A whole lot of SaaS products have been touting their cost optimization capabilities since ZIRP ended. I think "can manage its own costs" is tablestakes for most SaaS products now to such a degree that it's not even worth mentioning in the core features--it's just _expected_.

020

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 05/08/2025

Just realized every major Vegas strip hotel is now unionized. Venetian unionized last August. I wonder how long before "Relocate re:Invent" made it to someone's agenda--minutes? hours? 😆

040

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 22/07/2025

Just doin some wild shit in studio with @quinnypig.com today 🤘

1131

Reposted by Mike Julian

Scott Piper @scottpiper.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Now that AWS fixed the free tier, I think the next biggest technical absurdity, in terms of a thing that seems like a decision made outside of technical considerations, is how you can't move an S3 bucket between accounts.

451

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 15/07/2025

"Being a founder is, well, it actually sucks. It's oddly like being repeatedly punched in the face." 🤣 too real

2203

Reposted by Mike Julian

Charity Majors @charity.wtf · 09/07/2025

New post up, with a bunch of thoughts on what drives me personally, and my own 40-year career (h/t @lethain.com). I have a pretty unusual life story. But one of the reasons I love the tech industry so much is how common unusual stories like mine have historically been. charity.wtf/2025/07/09/t...

charity.wtf

Thoughts on Motivation and My 40-Year Career

I’ve never published an essay quite like this. I’ve written about my life before, reams of stuff actually, because that’s how I process what I think, but never for public consumption. I’ve been pus…

1415433

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 15/07/2025

In before an Amazon exec realizes a product team made something unique and interesting and ruins it by bringing it back into the fold a la Lightsail.

130

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 30/06/2025

The problem I have with modern observability tools is that I feel like an idiot trying to figure out how to use them.

140

Reposted by Mike Julian

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Want to know the most telling metric about cloud cost management tools? Check how many people actually USE them. Great tools matter, but without the right people driving your strategy, they're just expensive dashboards collecting dust.

youtube.com

Cloud Cost Tools Won't Fix Your AWS Bill (Here's Why)

Think throwing money at fancy cloud cost management tools will solve your AWS spending problems? Here's why that approach fails: Most companies have fewer th...

031

Reposted by Mike Julian

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Missing your AWS EDP commitment? Don’t panic. If you’re 10–15% underwater, doing nothing might be optimal since shortfall fees use discounted rates. Focus on total savings, not perfect forecasting.

duckbillgroup.com

What To Do When You’re Underwater on Your AWS EDP

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

011

Reposted by Mike Julian

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Finance and Engineering need couples therapy when it comes to cloud costs. Finance wants confidence in the numbers and trajectory. Engineering thinks they need to defend every dollar. Better understanding leads to better outcomes. youtube.com/shorts/XY4Ax...

youtube.com

The Finance-Engineering Gap in Cloud Costs: A Simple Fix

Stop assuming Finance wants a detailed justification of every dollar in your cloud bill. What they really want is confidence - confidence that someone unders...

101

Reposted by Mike Julian

John Breen @breen.tech · 27/05/2025

I have managed multiple teams at a company with a hybrid schedule. I have also been hiring pretty consistently for years now (basically until like a month ago). One thing I hear from candidates often is that they are actively excited to come into the office a few times a week to be around others.

2212

Reposted by Mike Julian

Liz Fong-Jones (方禮真) @lizthegrey.com · 27/05/2025

You can skate by with informal knowledge and keeping state in people's heads and making it accessible via in-person conversation if you are in person. Mandatory written artifacts create a lot of overhead for many people if they are not reading and writing first people.

98913

Reposted by Mike Julian

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

The foundation of cloud cost management isn't about optimization—it's about understanding why engineering teams make the decisions they do. Start there, and meaningful optimization follows.

youtube.com

Why Engineering Teams Don't Focus On AWS Costs

Here's something crucial about cloud costs that most people miss: Engineering teams are shipping features because that's exactly what they should be doing. T...

031

Reposted by Mike Julian

emily freeman @emilyfreeman.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Freeman & Forrest is a year old! It's been a wild, incredible journey and we've learned so much. I'm remembering an executive we pitched early on who called us a "small business for shitty little companies." Anyway, we've paid technical content creators $1.7M. I'm proud of that. fnf.dev/one-year

freemanandforrest.com

5 Big Numbers from 1 Big Year at Freeman & Forrest

With one full year under our belts, here are a few of the numbers from this year that we’re most excited about.

141106

Reposted by Mike Julian

Scott Piper @scottpiper.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

AWS VPC endpoint interface support for AZs is chaos. Of the 392 services these endpoints support, 75 services are not available in all AZs in us-east-1. You think, ok use1-az3 is probably missing support for some, because of course it is, because it's cursed and you'd be right, it's the worst, but

161

Reposted by Mike Julian

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Your cloud cost management central team can't handle it all forever. The path to scale is through decentralization - equipping teams across the organization with the tools, standards, and processes to manage their own costs. Enable, don't control.

youtube.com

Scale Your Cost Management Like This

The reality of scaling cloud cost management hits hard: your central team can't do it all. Learn how successful enterprises shift from centralized control to...

011

Mike Julian @mikejulian.com · 01/05/2025

Pretty common case that we see $500k-$750k a month on cloudwatch logs in our enterprise customers. This is great.

140

Reposted by Mike Julian

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Want to make a real dent in your AWS costs? Stop obsessing over turning off unused resources. Start examining your architectural choices. How you design your application matters more than how you optimize individual components. youtube.com/shorts/bVJYT...

youtube.com

The BIGGEST AWS Cost Driver Nobody Talks About

Think AWS cost management is all about finding idle resources and resizing instances? Think again. The real impact on your cloud costs comes from your archit...

121