# SUS05-BP01 Use the minimum amount of hardware to meet your needs
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 Using the capabilities of the cloud, you can make frequent changes to your workload implementations. Update deployed components as your needs change. 

 **Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** Medium 

## Implementation guidance
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+  Enable horizontal scaling, and use automation to scale out as loads increase and to scale in as loads decrease. 
+  Scale using small increments for variable workloads. 
+  Align scaling with cyclical utilization patterns (for example, a payroll system with intense bi-weekly processing activities) as load varies over days, weeks, months, or years. 
+  Negotiate service level Agreements (SLAs) that allow for a temporary reduction in capacity while automation deploys replacement resources. 

## Resources
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 **Related documents:** 
+  [AWS Compute Optimizer Documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/compute-optimizer/index.html) 
+  [Operating Lambda: Performance optimization](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/compute/operating-lambda-performance-optimization-part-2/) 
+  [Auto Scaling Documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/autoscaling/index.html)