Simplifying Cloud Cost Control and Governance with Stacklet

Introduction
Stacklet, a cloud cost control and governance platform, has gained popularity in recent years as companies across industries face economic challenges. Founded by Travis Stanfield and Kapil Thangavelu, the startup has seen significant growth, with revenue tripling year over year in 2023.
Core Commercial Product
Features
- Helps enterprises manage data governance across different clouds, accounts, policies, and regions
- Focuses on security, cost optimization, and regulatory compliance
- Offers pre-defined policy packs and allows for custom rules
- Provides analytics functions for policy health and resource auditing
- Includes real-time inventory and change management logs for cloud assets
Open Source Component: Cloud Custodian
- Developed by the founders during their time at Capital One
- Project open sourced in 2016 and part of Cloud Native Computing Foundation
- Stateless rules engine with CLI, separate from commercial product
- Ensures separation between open source and commercial offerings
Importance of Cost Control
- Cost control has become crucial for businesses, especially with the rise of resource-intensive technologies like AI
- Focus on FinOps - continuous usage optimization and efficiency best practices
- Growing need for expenditure control as companies expand into cloud services
Investor Confidence
- Recent investment of $14.5 million to support continued growth
- Led by SineWave VC with participation from other venture firms
- Previous round in 2021 raised $18 million, indicating steady investor confidence
- Total funding for Stacklet now stands at $36.5 million
Future Outlook
- Balancing growth and efficiency remains a priority for Stacklet
- Caution in spending decisions, with strategic investments to accelerate growth
- Commitment to providing value to customers through innovative cloud governance solutions
In conclusion, Stacklet's success in the cloud cost control and governance space is driven by its comprehensive platform, commitment to open source collaboration, and focus on addressing evolving customer needs. With continued support from investors, the company is well-positioned to lead the way in optimizing cloud resources for businesses across industries.