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FinOps practice operations

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This article helps you understand the FinOps Practice Operations capability within the FinOps Framework and how to implement that in the Microsoft Cloud.


Definition

FinOps practice operations refers to the process of building and managing a robust FinOps team, defining clear cross-functional responsibilities, and integrating FinOps practices into organizational processes to manage cloud cost and usage effectively.

Establish a dedicated FinOps team with the necessary skills, define and implement a FinOps strategy, foster stakeholder relationships, and develop a growth and maturity plan for the team.


Getting started

When you first start managing cost in the cloud, you might not need a dedicated FinOps team. This typically depends on how many people are involved in building and managing cloud solutions. But whether or not you establish a dedicated FinOps team, it's important to coordinate with key stakeholders across the organization. We recommend establishing a virtual steering committee to align on and drive FinOps efforts early. This group can get more formal and define explicit processes more over time as the organization grows and adopts the cloud more. Consider the following when establishing a FinOps steering committee:

  • Start by finding enthusiasts who are passionate about FinOps, cost optimization, efficiency, or data-driven use of technology to accelerate business goals.
  • Schedule a recurring meeting with representatives from finance, business, and engineering teams.
    • Meet weekly or monthly to agree on goals, formulate strategy and tactics, and collaborate on the execution
    • If you have a central team responsible for cost management, consider having them chair the committee.
  • Discuss and document the roles and responsibilities of each committee member.
    • FinOps Foundation proposes one potential responsibility assignment matrix (RACI model).
  • Collaborate on planning your first FinOps iteration.
    • Make notes where there are differing perspectives and opinions. Discuss those subjects for alignment in the future.
    • Start small and find common ground to enable the committee to execute a successful iteration. It's OK if you don't solve every problem.
    • Document decisions and outline processes, key contacts, and required activities. Documentation can be a small checklist in early stages. Focus on winning as one rather than documenting everything and executing perfectly.
  • Expand and formalize your steering committee as you develop broader sponsorship across business, finance, and engineering.

Most organizations find it's important to establish a FinOps team as they near $1 million in cloud spend per year. This may be sooner depending on how many services and service providers are used and how many teams are using the cloud. As cloud adoption grows, consider the following:

  • Research your stakeholders and organizations.
    • Understand what motivates them through their mission and success criteria.
    • Learn about the challenges they face and look for opportunities for FinOps to help address them.
    • Identify potential promoters and detractors and empathize with why they would or wouldn't support your efforts. Factor both sides into your strategy.
  • Identify an initial sponsor and prepare a pitch that explains how your strategy leads to a positive change on their mission and success criteria. Present your plan with clear asks and next steps.
    • You're creating a mini startup. Do your research around how to prepare for these early meetings.
    • Document the FinOps strategy, including staffing and funding requirements and how the team will support others.
    • Leverage the FinOps assessment capability to build a complete plan.
    • Utilize FinOps Foundation resources to build your pitch, strategy, and more.
    • Use the FinOps community to share their knowledge and experience. They've been where you are.
  • Dual-track your FinOps efforts: Drive lightweight FinOps initiatives with large returns while you cultivate your community. Nothing is better proof than data.
    • Promote and celebrate your wins with early adopters.
  • Integrate with existing data sources, teams, and processes to minimize startup time.
    • Report on FinOps metrics in recurring engineering, business, and financial reviews.
    • Build relationships with key stakeholders and find ways to help them achieve their goals through FinOps (e.g., help justify additional budget or find opportunities to free up budget) to promote a FinOps culture.

Building on the basics

At this point, you have a regular cadence of meetings with a steering committee and have possibly established a dedicated FinOps team. As you move beyond the basics, consider the following points:

  • Leverage the FinOps assessment capability to build a flesh out a complete plan, incorporating knowledge sharing, automated metrics and processes, and organizational adoption.
  • Review the Cloud Adoption Framework guidance for tips on how to drive organizational alignment on a larger scale. You might find opportunities to align with other governance initiatives.
  • Define and document your operating model and evolve your strategy as a collaborative community.
  • Brainstorm metrics and tactics that can demonstrate value and inspire different stakeholders through effective communication.
  • Consider tools that can help self-promote your successes, like reports and dashboards.
  • Share regular updates that celebrate small wins to demonstrate value.
  • Look for opportunities to scale through other organizational priorities and initiatives, including intersecting disciplines.
  • Explore ways to "go big" and launch a fully supported FinOps practice with a central team. Learn from other successful initiatives within the organization.
  • Provide continuous training and skill development for team members.
  • Regularly review and refine the FinOps strategy to ensure alignment with organizational objectives.
  • Foster a culture of collaboration and communication across departments to enhance FinOps practices.

Learn more at the FinOps Foundation

This capability is part of the FinOps Framework by the FinOps Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing cloud cost management and optimization. For more information about FinOps, including useful playbooks, training and certification programs, and more, see the FinOps Practice and Operations article in the FinOps Framework documentation.


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