Enterprises often approach cloud cost optimization through reactive methods — analyzing bills, right-sizing VMs, or shutting down idle workloads. But sustainable savings require a shift toward preventive automation. This session demonstrates how to transform Terraform from an Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tool into a proactive cost-control framework using HashiCorp Cloud Platform (HCP) Terraform, Workspaces, and Sentinel.

Drawing from real-world enterprise experience, we’ll explore how modular Terraform architectures, automated policy enforcement, and cost-estimation APIs can dramatically reduce spend while improving governance. You’ll see how to detect overspending before deployment, automate environment cleanups, and link budgets directly to Terraform runs.

The talk walks through practical design patterns:

1. Embedding Sentinel policies for budget compliance

2. Leveraging Terraform Cloud Workspaces for environment isolation and visibility

3. Using cost estimation APIs and tag-based chargebacks to monitor spend

4. Automating FinOps pipelines that enforce cost discipline at scale

5. Integrating Vault for secure cost automation and credentials

A short demo will illustrate a Terraform workspace integrating real-time cost estimation and policy validation. We’ll also highlight lessons learned from reducing enterprise licensing and storage costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars using Terraform-driven automation.

By the end of the session, attendees will understand how to build a self-regulating, cost-efficient Terraform ecosystem that scales securely across multi-cloud environments — replacing manual monitoring with intelligent, automated cost governance.