StormGeo – a global success from Bergen

Client: StormGeo

Project: AWS Cost Optimization

Date: JUNE 2025

StormGeo is a global company with its head office in Bergen.

While most Norwegians probably still associate StormGeo with the weather forecast on TV2 and “storm.no,” the data they supply to these services today makes up only a small part of the company’s business.

Since its inception in 1998, StormGeo has evolved into a global provider of advanced solutions for weather intelligence and decision support for shipping, energy, and other weather-sensitive industries. Their 800 employees, spread across 26 offices around the world, deliver insights used daily to protect people and assets, reduce emissions, and optimize logistics and operations.

With proprietary insight and analysis platforms as a central part of the business model, and a global organization reliant on secure and efficient technology, the team of IT Director Tom-Kenneth Fossheim must maintain full control over modern cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure, in addition to mastering the more traditional technologies central to users’ everyday lives.

Why StormGeo chose Finalyze

Analysis and insight solutions often require significant resources in terms of compute and storage. In an industry like weather forecasting, where one must predict the whims of nature, the resource demands are exceptionally high. Resource and cost optimization of cloud assets is therefore a critically important area of expertise for Tom-Kenneth Fossheim and his team. This work demands deep insights into the cloud platform’s technologies, tools, and licensing models.

AWS is the cloud platform StormGeo has utilized the longest. Over time, the IT department has built solid competence in resource and cost optimization and manages this as a continuous, ongoing task.

Despite this internal expertise, Tom-Kenneth Fossheim made the strategic decision to procure Finalyze’s service for AWS cost optimization. The reason was straightforward: even the most robust internal processes can benefit from external quality assurance.

Project execution and results

All major cloud platforms offer powerful tools for cost and resource optimization. With proactive management and continuous oversight, these tools ensure predictable cloud expenditure, effectively eliminating the risk of unpleasant surprises when the bill arrives. Users receive actionable recommendations on cost-saving measures, such as right-sizing resources and utilizing the most advantageous pricing models. Measurable results show that costs can often be reduced by 30-50% simply by adopting the suggested measures

When Finalyze conducts a cost and resource analysis in AWS on behalf of its clients, our consultants require read-only access to the relevant tools. Once this access was granted, it quickly became clear that StormGeo, with their deep expertise on the AWS platform, already had strong control over the areas that offer the greatest savings potential.

We follow a proven playbook for all our cost optimization projects. Our experience shows that even the best-in-class can benefit from an external review of their optimization efforts. We always share a detailed project plan with the client before commencing work.

After the project handover, we asked how StormGeo had experienced the process:

“Finalyze was very clear about their expectations of us, which made it much easier for us to both plan and execute the project.” Fossheim replied “There were no surprises along the way. Well-structured and completed in less time than we expected.”

Thorough analysis is the foundation of effective cost optimization. Before the report is produced, our consultants develop growth forecasts for each individual service, identify potential problem areas, and review governance in accordance with best practices for the relevant platform.

In this project, the results showed that StormGeo already had an effective optimization process in place, but there were still a few areas that could be improved, as well as some quick wins that could further reduce costs.

When we asked Tom-Kenneth whether the outcome met his expectations, he replied:

“Absolutely. There was a 100% match between the project scope and the delivery.”

It has been a great pleasure to have the opportunity to deliver our services to StormGeo. Their extensive experience with the AWS platform has made the project educational for us as well. Their focus on climate and the sustainable use of resources also aligns well with our vision – Zero Waste. We hope and believe in a good collaboration also in the future.