Decommissioning Policy Guide Example
ID: SUS_SUS2_4_decommissioning-policy-guide
Code: SUS2_4
Background
Decommissioning unused assets in your workload is essential to minimize resource waste, reduce operational costs, and enhance your sustainability efforts. By identifying and eliminating these assets, you ensure that only essential resources remain active, directly aligning with best practices in sustainable resource management.
Scope
This guide outlines a sample process and policy focusing on the identification, review, and removal of unnecessary cloud resources to match changing demand and promote sustainability.
Key Steps
- Asset Inventory: Maintain a continuous and up-to-date list of all resources across your cloud environment. Use tagging and grouping to categorize assets by department or function.
- Usage Monitoring: Track resource consumption metrics (CPU, memory, storage, etc.) to identify underutilized or idle resources. Automated monitoring helps eliminate manual oversight.
- Review and Approval: Develop a periodic review process. Cross-functional teams or designated owners validate which resources are still in use and which need decommissioning.
- Notification Process: Establish automated alerts to inform resource owners of potential decommissioning actions. Allow a predefined grace period for owners to provide justification.
- Decommission Execution: Follow a standardized runbook or procedure for safely decommissioning assets, including necessary backups, documentation updates, and removal from monitoring dashboards.
- Validation and Verification: After decommissioning, confirm dependencies are unaffected. Perform checks and revert resources if critical dependencies are found.
- Documentation and Lessons Learned: Record all decommissioned resources, the justification for removal, and any lessons to optimize future decommissioning events.
Policy Guidelines
- Regular Review Cycle: Conduct monthly or quarterly resource evaluations to ensure ongoing alignment with demand.
- Clear Ownership: Assign resource owners and define clear responsibilities for monitoring, justifying, or decommissioning assets.
- Compliance and Standards: Ensure all decommissioning steps align with organizational security, compliance, and operational best practices.
Risk Mitigation
Use a rollback plan to restore decommissioned resources if critical issues arise post-removal. This plan should include backup restoration procedures, updated configuration management processes, and communication channels to address urgent concerns.
Benefits
- Cost Savings: Freeing up unused resources reduces monthly cloud expenses.
- Operational Efficiency: Fewer inactive assets simplifies monitoring, troubleshooting, and change management processes.
- Sustainability: Decommissioning lowers energy usage, aligning your practices with environmental best standards.