CLOUD & AI ECONOMICS
I help enterprise technology teams understand what cloud and AI actually cost, what drives those costs, and where engineering, vendor and financial decisions are creating avoidable spend or poor economics.
Independent perspective. Google Cloud depth. Commercial discipline.
When the bill is clear.
But the decision is not.
THE WORK
A lower invoice is useful. A defensible decision is more useful. What should you commit to? Which costs deserve attention? What changes the forecast?
I connect the technical facts with the commercial terms so you can act with a clear view of the economics.
Establish a useful cost baseline. Identify the drivers. Test opportunities against implementation effort and business needs.
Understand AI usage, vendor pricing and the cost of a useful outcome before committing more spend.
Build a practical rhythm between finance and engineering, with a clear record of what changed and what it is worth.
A FOCUSED PLACE TO START
One important decision.
A defined scope. A usable answer.
For technology and finance leaders at growing and midmarket software and data businesses with a Google Cloud footprint, facing a cost, forecast, or vendor decision.
Start with one Google Cloud billing scope and one decision. Include a limited review of relevant AI vendor costs when those inputs are available.
Talk to WalkerScope, start date, and delivery schedule are agreed after confirming access and Walker's availability.
The billing scope, period, major cost drivers, and limitations made explicit.
Options, assumptions, tradeoffs, and a recommendation for the decision you need to make.
Estimated opportunity, confidence, effort, dependencies, and a proposed owner.
A readout with technology and finance, plus the next steps needed to validate outcomes.
Read-only analysis. No production changes, contract execution, or guaranteed savings.
THE APPROACH
The work is built around a business question,
not a longer list of dashboards.
Agree on the buyer, question, billing scope, inputs, and what a useful answer looks like.
Review billing exports, invoices, relevant terms, and context from the people closest to the work.
Compare the financial case with operational effort, uncertainty, and commercial constraints.
Hand over a decision brief and action register, with a method for confirming what happens next.
A SIMPLE STANDARD
Estimated opportunity, observed reduction, realized savings, and Finance-accepted savings answer different questions. Keep those stages separate, with the baseline and assumptions visible.
MEET WALKER
I'm Walker Fluke. I help technology and finance leaders understand and control cloud and AI spending, improve vendor accountability, and turn technical costs into better business decisions.
I bring more than 20 years around software development, infrastructure, DevOps, cloud operations, and enterprise technology delivery, with experience across enterprise, retail, restaurants, and manufacturing.
My deepest hands-on cloud experience is Google Cloud FinOps. My broader advisory work connects engineering, finance, procurement, vendor economics, and executive decisions.
BEFORE WE TALK
A defined business question, one GCP billing scope, billing exports or relevant invoices, available vendor terms, and a person who can explain the operating context. We agree on secure access and data handling before sharing sensitive information.
The initial diagnostic is read-only advisory. Production changes and ongoing implementation are excluded. Any follow-on work is separately scoped and agreed.
Google Cloud is my strongest hands-on implementation area. I can help frame broader cloud and AI economics, vendor, and governance decisions. Depth and delivery responsibilities are made explicit in each scope.
That depends on the question, data access, and my available delivery time. We confirm capacity before agreeing to a start date or promising a delivery schedule.
START WITH THE QUESTION
A cloud bill you cannot explain. A commitment you need to evaluate. An AI vendor cost that needs scrutiny. Start there. A diagnostic is an optional next step, not a requirement for a conversation.
Send a short note about your question. We can agree on a time to talk by email.
EMAIL WALKER
Email WalkerOpens your email app. You send the message yourself. If no email app opens, copy the address into your preferred email service.
Please do not include confidential information or billing exports in your first message. Scheduling is arranged personally by email.