Netflix? More like Netfix: The world’s most popular streaming service is neck-deep in its biggest rival and doesn’t even know how much it’s spending on cloud computing
- AWS is Netflix’s only cloud computing platform
- But AWS is also part of Amazon, owner of Amazon Prime Video, a major rival of Netflix
- Netflix engineers struggle to keep track of how many resources they use on AWS
Netflix, the world’s most popular streaming platform, may dominate home entertainment, but it’s struggling to meet one of its biggest operational challenges: the cost of cloud computing.
Despite its technologically progressive image, Netflix has admitted that it doesn’t fully know how much it’s spending on the cloud, an oversight that’s even more surprising considering that its cloud provider, AWS, is part of Amazon – owner of Prime Video, one of the largest Netflix’s competitors.
Netflix’s cloud infrastructure relies on AWS for compute, storage and networking and powers its global streaming service. Engineering teams use self-service tools to create and deploy applications, generating massive amounts of data. However, the complexity of this ecosystem makes it difficult for Netflix to understand exactly how resources are used and how costs stack up.
Keep the content flowing
Netflix’s Platform Data Science Engineering (DSE) team took it upon themselves to untangle this problem. The team’s mission is to help the company’s engineers understand resource usage, efficiency and associated costs.
But as Netflix acknowledged in a recent blog postcloud cost management is still a work in progress.
To address the challenges Netflix faces, Netflix has developed two tools: Foundational Platform Data (FPD) and Cloud Efficiency Analytics (CEA). FPD provides a centralized data layer with a standardized model, merging data from applications such as Apache Spark. CEA builds on this by applying business logic to generate cost and ownership attribution, providing insights into efficiency and usage patterns.
The obstacles are significant. Netflix’s sprawling infrastructure includes multi-owner services, varying cost heuristics, and multi-tenant platforms that make tracking difficult.
Data delays and platform-specific adjustments add an extra layer of complexity. Regular audits and data transformations are necessary to maintain accuracy, but the company admits it has not yet gained full visibility into its cloud spend.
Looking ahead, Netflix says it plans to expand its tools and integrate predictive analytics and machine learning to optimize usage and detect cost anomalies.
As the company tries to refine its approach, the situation reveals a striking irony: The world’s most popular streaming platform is relying on its rival’s technology to deliver its own services, but is still figuring out the true costs to keep its content flowing.