Reserved Instances sound like an easy win at first.

AWS Reserved Instances can cut cloud costs, but only when usage is stable enough to keep commitments fully utilized.

Accurate forecasting is essential, because workload changes, resizing, migrations, and autoscaling can quickly reduce RI value.

Without continuous monitoring and optimization, reserved capacity can turn into wasted spend instead of savings.

FinOps teams need to treat RI management as an ongoing process, not a one-time purchase.