Shaping the Future of Cloud Financial Management
At the end of June 2023, the FinOps X event was hosted in San Diego, California. This conference offered profound insights into the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud financial management. The Devoteam M Cloud team attended this conference. In this blog, you will read our five key takeaways and why they are important to your business.
FinOps Adoption: The Need for a Cultural Shift
Implementing FinOps successfully within an organisation is more than just introducing new tools or techniques – it’s about fostering a cultural shift. Tailoring data and reports to specific roles can accelerate the adoption of FinOps and cultivate a culture of financial transparency and accountability. Organisations that leverage role-specific dashboards and put them in the path of this stakeholder will not only improve cloud management efficiency but also enhance the overall effectiveness of their FinOps practices.
Shifting from Cost Optimization to Cost Avoidance: Proactive Financial Management
FinOps has never been solely about the cost. We see an increasing acknowledgement of the shift from merely cost optimisation to cost avoidance. This transition from reactive to proactive financial management indicates a maturing FinOps practice and community. The focus is now on building robust strategies and fostering a proactive culture of decision-making and operational vigilance that can pre-emptively tackle excessive spending. This means increased financial efficiency for businesses as they don’t spend their budget on unnecessities or have already considered cost optimisation in advance. Also, gaining more buy-in from business stakeholders as the boundaries of delivering and running new applications is clearly defined upfront.
Embracing the Full Spectrum of the Cloud: SAAS Inclusive FinOps
The start of many FinOps practices started with traditional cloud services like AWS, Azure, and GCP. However, the horizon is broadening and is also starting to include more Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendors. This inclusive approach means organisations can now apply FinOps principles to manage a wider range of cloud-related expenditures, paving the way for comprehensive cloud cost management.
Standardising the Language of FinOps: The Emergence of FOCUS
FOCUS (FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification) introduces a standardised cost and usage information framework, which is anticipated to be a game-changer in cloud financial management. Microsoft, a principal stakeholder, is leading this initiative alongside Google Cloud. They are emphasising their commitment to transparency and efficient cloud cost management. This unified language of cloud finance promises to empower organisations, allowing them to identify and optimise their cloud spending effectively across various service providers.
The Convergence of Sustainability and Finance: GreenOps in Practice
The FinOps community is now looking beyond financial metrics and integrating sustainability into their practices. The concept of GreenOps brings environmental responsibility and economic optimisation together. Organisations are encouraged to consider carbon emissions alongside financial metrics, marrying fiscal prudence with ecological outcomes. This integration signifies a significant step towards more responsible and sustainable cloud computing practices and aligns with the growing importance of corporate social responsibility.
Conclusion
In summary, the takeaways from FinOps X 2023 mark the importance of FinOps as a vital role in any cloud journey. The shift to cost avoidance, the application of the FinOps principles to SaaS vendors, the emergence of the FOCUS framework, and the fusion of finance and sustainability all signify a transformation in the approach to cloud cost management.
Microsoft takes a leading role in the evolution of the FinOps framework and FOCUS specifically.
Ultimately, mastering FinOps is no longer an option for organisations. It’s a necessity for sustained growth in a cloud world. These insights serve as a critical guide for organisations aiming to maximise the value of every budget that might or might not be spent in the cloud. The FinOps Framework serves as a guide to a more efficient, effective, and sustainable in every cloud journey.
