Gerdau optimized its FinOps management in just 3 months

Gerdau, one of the largest steel companies in the world, was facing complex challenges related to the management of its multi-cloud infrastructure in 2024. With a robust operation and significant technological 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, implementing strategic automations and centralizing the visualization of more than 180 different projects. Here’s 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, machinery, naval, and energy. Ready to go beyond steel, the company also operates 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 approximately 30,000 employees spread across seven countries in the Americas.

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

With this track record and a history of 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 was facing:

• Lack of visibility: Technical and business teams could not access reliable and timely data to support strategic decisions, impacting resource control and the identification of operational bottlenecks.

• Manual processes: The absence of automation required excessive time and effort from teams, hindering the efficient management of unused resources and performance tracking.

• Limited integration: Communication between technology and business areas was fragmented, making it difficult to clearly demonstrate the cloud’s strategic value to stakeholders.

Risks Related to the Challenges

The lack of centralized visibility directly weakens cost governance in multi-cloud environments. Without consolidated, updated, and reliable data, technology and business teams lose the ability to act in a coordinated way, making it harder to identify deviations and apply timely corrections.

The continuation 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 using advanced tools to manage its multi-cloud operation, including:

• Lighthouse: The tool provided personalized and detailed dashboards, with data by cost center, projects, and specific resources. This functionality enabled quick and accurate decisions in an environment with more than 180 simultaneous AWS projects.

• Automation: The integration of automations, such as the automatic deactivation of obsolete resources, significantly reduced the time and effort needed to keep the environment under governance.

• Efficient Chargeback: Pier Cloud implemented an automatic cost allocation system that eliminated spreadsheet use and reduced manual errors, optimizing transparency and accountability across teams. The AWS chargeback took into account all internal rules, including currency exchange conversion. The finance team automatically accesses the data and is able to perform the necessary financial and accounting entries.

  Through Lighthouse, Pier’s platform uses S3 to collect AWS billing information from the client. We then process the data through ETL and construct the allocation and visibility needed for the client’s context. We use Athena to read the information

Results Achieved

In just three months, Gerdau achieved significant improvements:

• Operational cost reduction: Automation and optimization of unused resources helped reduce spending and increase efficiency. In addition to Lighthouse, we used CCA (Cloud Compliance Analyzer), which—through custom rules developed on the platform—identified cost-saving, compliance, and security opportunities for the Gerdau team. CCA collects information via SDK through an assume role in the client’s accounts. With the data captured, we help clients identify idle resources, apply best practices, and propose technological upgrades, contributing to the optimization and efficiency of the client’s infrastructure.

• Operational agility: Dashboards and configured alerts enabled faster decisions and better-aligned strategies — saving operational time equivalent to many hours of manual work.

• Business integration: Centralized visibility connected metrics to business objectives, promoting greater understanding and collaboration across teams.

Lessons Learned and Next Steps

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

• Strengthening business metric alignment: Deepen the connection between KPIs and corporate goals to further demonstrate the strategic value of the cloud.

• Expanding automation: Develop new features that bring greater efficiency and governance to the environment.

• Sustainability and innovation: Incorporate green and sustainable practices to align technology with Gerdau’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility.

Testimonial

“The partnership with Pier Cloud was transformative. We not only improved our cost visibility and control, but also automated processes and aligned our technology metrics with business needs. This journey is just beginning, but it has already delivered substantial gains for our operation.”
– Lucas Viana, FinOps Analyst, Gerdau