How GERDAU reduced costs and increased visibility

Gerdau, one of the largest steel companies in the world, was facing complex challenges related to managing its multi-cloud infrastructure in 2024. With a robust operation and a significant technology legacy, the company was looking for a solution to overcome bottlenecks such as lack of real-time visibility, costly manual processes, and difficulties in data-driven decision-making.

It was in this context that the partnership with Pier Cloud emerged as a turning point. In less than three months, Gerdau managed to transform its FinOps management by implementing strategic automations and centralizing the visualization of more than 180 distinct projects. Check out how Pier Cloud helped Gerdau reach new levels of efficiency and innovation.

About Gerdau

As the largest Brazilian multinational steel producer, Gerdau serves several sectors such as construction, automotive industry, machinery, naval, and energy. Prepared to go beyond steel, the company also has Gerdau Next, a new business arm focused on construction, logistics, infrastructure, renewable energy, and startup acceleration. Gerdau’s global presence includes 29 steel production units and about 30,000 employees distributed across seven countries in the Americas.

In addition, the company owns two iron ore mines, 250,000 hectares of forest base between eucalyptus plantations and preservation areas, more than 70 Comercial Gerdau stores, and holds the position of the largest recycler of ferrous scrap in Latin America, annually transforming 11 million tons of scrap into steel. Its shares are traded on the São Paulo and New York Stock Exchanges, and the company reached net revenue of R$ 14.7 billion.

With these credentials and a history marked by innovation, Gerdau relies on Pier Cloud to support its technological transformation and strengthen its FinOps strategies.

The challenges

Initial scenario

Before implementing Pier Cloud, Gerdau faced:

• Lack of visibility: Technical and business teams could not access reliable and fast data to support strategic decisions, impacting resource control and the identification of operational bottlenecks.
• Manual processes: The lack of automation demanded excessive time and effort from teams, hindering effective management of unused resources and the monitoring of performance metrics.
• Limited integration: Communication between technology and business areas was fragmented, making it difficult to clearly demonstrate the strategic value of the cloud to stakeholders.

Risks tied to the challenges

The lack of centralized visibility directly weakens cost governance in multi-cloud environments. Without consolidated, up-to-date, and reliable data, technology and business teams lose the ability to act in a coordinated way, hindering the identification of deviations and the timely application of corrections.

The continuity of manual, spreadsheet-based processes increases operational risk. Human errors, lack of standardization, and difficulties in data reconciliation compromise both the accuracy of analyses and the agility of decisions.

Without the support of appropriate tools, cost management becomes reactive and limited, increasing the risk of accumulated financial inefficiencies — especially in large-scale operations like Gerdau’s.

The solution

Automation and visibility
With the implementation of Pier Cloud, Gerdau began to rely on advanced tools to manage its multi-cloud operation, including:

• Lighthouse: The tool provided customized and detailed dashboards, with data by cost center, projects, and specific resources. This functionality enabled quick and assertive decisions in an environment with more than 180 simultaneous AWS projects.
• Automation: The integration of automations, such as automatic shutdown of obsolete resources, significantly reduced the time and effort required to keep the environment governed.
• Efficient chargeback: Pier Cloud implemented an automatic allocation system that eliminated the use of spreadsheets and reduced manual errors, optimizing transparency and accountability between areas. The AWS chargeback took into account all rules used internally, in addition to currency conversion. The finance team automatically accesses the data and is able to make the necessary financial and accounting entries.

Through Lighthouse, the Pier platform uses S3 to collect the customer’s AWS billing information. Subsequently, we work on the ETL and processing to build the allocation and visibility needed for the customer’s context. We use Athena to read the information.

Results achieved

In just three months, Gerdau recorded significant improvements:

• Reduction of operational costs: Automation and optimization of unused resources reduced expenses and increased efficiency.
  In addition to Lighthouse, we used CCA, the Cloud Compliance Analyzer, which through its own rules developed on the Platform showed the opportunities for savings, compliance, and security for Gerdau’s team. CCA captures information via SDK from an assume role in customer accounts. With the captured data, we help our clients identify idle resources, apply best practices, and propose technological upgrades, contributing to the optimization and efficiency of the client’s infrastructure.
• Operational agility: Configured dashboards and alerts enabled faster decisions and more aligned strategies. In addition to the operational time saved, equivalent to several hours of work.
• Business integration: Centralized visualization connected the metrics with business objectives, promoting greater understanding and collaboration between areas.

Lessons learned and next steps

Gerdau is committed to expanding the use of Pier Cloud, focusing on:

• Deepening the connection with business metrics: Strengthen the integration between KPIs and corporate objectives to further demonstrate the cloud’s strategic value.
• Expanding automations: Develop new features that bring more efficiency and governance to the environment.
• Sustainability and innovation: Incorporate green and sustainable practices to align technology with the commitment to environmental and social responsibility.

Testimonial

“The partnership with Pier Cloud was transformative. We managed not only to improve our visibility and cost control, but also to automate processes and integrate our technology metrics with business needs. This journey is just beginning, but it has already brought substantial gains to our operation.”
— Lucas Viana, FinOps Analyst, Gerdau