The lightweight scheduler
we used to rely on.
ParkMyCloud proved that a simple scheduler beats a heavy FinOps suite. Then it was acquired by Turbonomic in 2019, and Turbonomic was acquired by IBM in 2021. CloudValet is an independent product we built because we missed that category of tool.
Why this page exists
We searched for ParkMyCloud and found a gap.
If you searched for ParkMyCloud and ended up here, you already know the story. It was the simple "park your instances at night" tool. Then it got absorbed into an enterprise platform, and the teams who used it for its simplicity were left choosing between something heavy and something hand-rolled.
CloudValet is an independent product built for that gap. It turns non-production AWS resources off outside working hours and back on before the team arrives. It also reads your IAM setup and tells you plainly who can do what. No sprawling suite. No enterprise theater.
Independence notice: CloudValet is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or otherwise connected to ParkMyCloud, Turbonomic or IBM. We reference ParkMyCloud only to describe the history of the scheduling category. ParkMyCloud and Turbonomic are trademarks of their respective owners.
The math
Scheduling removes hours, not just discounts them.
Example estate
34 on-demand instances at $0.20/hour
Scheduled to business hours only, weekdays.
| Pattern | Hours / month | Cost / month | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24x7 | ~730 | $4,960 | - |
| Weekdays only | ~521 | $3,540 | 29% |
| Business hours | ~239 | $1,620 | ~67% |
Roughly $3,300 a month, or $40K a year, from one schedule. That is the EC2 line only. In most accounts, RDS and ECS services running next to those instances add to the bill.
What ParkMyCloud got right, and what changed
ParkMyCloud proved that a scheduler most people can operate beats a FinOps suite most people cannot. That part still holds.
- Cover the resources that make up today's non-prod bill: EC2, RDS, Auto Scaling groups and ECS services.
- See every account in one place without standing up a governance platform.
- Leave production alone by default. Only tagged or selected resources are scheduled.
- Install nothing. Access is a cross-account IAM role with least-privilege permissions.
Comparison
CloudValet vs ParkMyCloud vs AWS Instance Scheduler vs DIY scripts.
| Feature | ParkMyCloud (legacy) | AWS Instance Scheduler | Lambda + scripts | CloudValet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Absorbed into IBM Turbonomic | CloudFormation + DynamoDB | You own it | Active, self-serve SaaS |
| Setup | Contract + legacy portal | CloudFormation stack + CLI | Hours to days per account | Minutes per account |
| EC2 parking | Yes | Yes | If you write it | Yes |
| RDS parking | Yes | Yes | If you write it | Yes |
| Auto Scaling groups | Yes | Limited | If you write it | Yes |
| ECS services | No | No | If you write it | Yes |
| EKS / SageMaker | No | No | If you write it | Not in v1 |
| IAM clarity | No | No | If you write it | Yes |
| Multi-account dashboard | Yes | No UI | No | Yes |
| Tag-based schedules | Yes | Yes, via tag syntax | If you write it | Yes |
| Production excluded by default | Yes | Yes | Up to you | Yes |
| Agent required | No | No | No | No |
The AWS Instance Scheduler is a great tool. If you have one account, only EC2 and RDS, and someone who enjoys maintaining CloudFormation, use it. Once you have containers, several accounts, or people outside the platform team who need to change a schedule, "free" stops being free.
Getting started
Your first quiet week.
No migration, no import, no agents. You connect an account, tag what should sleep, and set the hours. Most teams see the first full weekend of savings within days.
- Tag the resources your teams do not need outside working hours.
- Set one schedule per team time zone. Keep it simple.
- Start with dev and test. Leave production alone.
- Review the projected saving before anything stops.
Your first schedule
- 1Connect an AWS account with a read-only IAM role.
- 2CloudValet discovers EC2, RDS, Auto Scaling groups and ECS resources across regions.
- 3Set working hours in your team time zone.
- 4Attach the schedule to a tag: env=dev, env=test or env=staging.
- 5Review what will stop, when, and the projected saving.
FAQ
Common questions.
Are you affiliated with ParkMyCloud?
No. ParkMyCloud was acquired by Turbonomic in 2019, and Turbonomic was acquired by IBM in 2021. CloudValet is an independent product we built because we missed that category of tool. CloudValet is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or otherwise connected to ParkMyCloud, Turbonomic or IBM. ParkMyCloud and Turbonomic are trademarks of their respective owners.
Will it touch production?
Only resources you tag or select are scheduled. Production is excluded unless you deliberately include it.
How long until we see savings?
Most teams set up their first schedule in minutes. Savings show on the next day's bill. Typical non-prod savings are 30 to 60%, up to around 70% for strictly business-hours environments.
Does it need an agent?
No. CloudValet uses a cross-account IAM role and native AWS APIs. Read-only access comes first; start and stop rights are added separately when you are ready.