Workload Placement Worksheet

Short Answer

• The best placement is workload-specific.
• A cheap option can become expensive if it adds ops load, data transfer, or idle capacity.
• A familiar provider can become expensive when the workload only needs a simpler placement category.

Inputs To Capture

• Workload type: batch jobs, inference, training, web app, or data pipeline.
• Runtime pattern: steady, bursty, batch, experimental, or always-on.
• Current provider and what feels wrong.
• Monthly budget range and whether the pain is recurring or one-off.
• GPU need, GPU utilization expectation, and capacity sensitivity.
• Data movement volume, region needs, and latency sensitivity.
• Ops tolerance, internal expertise, and incident expectations.

Placement Decision Table

• Default cloud: best when managed services, compliance, reliability, or team familiarity matter most.
• Specialized GPU cloud: best when GPU availability and useful GPU-hours dominate the decision.
• Smaller cloud: best when the workload is simple, steady, and overpaying for default-cloud breadth.
• Bare metal: best when utilization is high, workload is stable, and the team can operate hardware-like infrastructure.
• Managed platform or agency help: best when simplicity and low ops burden matter more than lowest unit cost.

Rough Math

• Placement fit = recurring cost + hidden cost + operational cost + risk cost.
• Ops-adjusted cost = infrastructure bill + estimated engineer time + incident risk.
• Utilization break-even = fixed monthly cost / expected useful workload hours.
• The worksheet is directional; use provider quotes and observed bills for final pricing.

Questions To Answer

• What must be true for this workload to be considered successful?
• Is the pain cost, speed, availability, simplicity, or uncertainty?
• Does the workload need provider-specific services or just compute?
• How much data moves in and out of the placement?
• Can the team operate the cheaper option without creating a new failure mode?
• Would a partial move solve the problem without a full migration?

Red Flags

• The decision starts with a provider brand instead of workload shape.
• The cheapest option requires ops work nobody owns.
• The team cannot explain data movement.
• The workload is experimental but the infrastructure choice creates long commitments.
• The bill is high but no one has separated compute, storage, networking, and managed services.

When To Use The Quiz

• Use the RunPlacement quiz when the team is arguing across categories instead of comparing exact providers.
• The quiz turns the worksheet inputs into a rough recommended category.