Cloud services (such as AWS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) products play a central role in business operations. These solutions offer significant benefits such as flexibility, faster development cycles, and low-cost introduction and testing of new technologies. However, with these benefits come new challenges, especially in managing costs. In this context, FinOps (Financial Operations) is gaining more and more attention, as this approach helps to effectively manage cloud-related expenses.
But what exactly is FinOps and why is it becoming essential for business decision makers?
What is FinOps?
FinOps is a relatively new concept designed to bridge the gap between IT and finance departments in the use of cloud services. Simply put, FinOps helps optimize cloud-related expenses while ensuring business goals and costs remain transparent and manageable. Due to the efficiency and scalability of cloud services, these costs can change quickly, making them difficult to track with traditional cost management methods.
FinOps is built on three core principles:
- Collaboration: Close cooperation between different departments such as IT, finance, and business development.
- Visibility: Providing real-time, transparent financial data so business decision-makers can clearly see how cloud resources are being utilized.
- Accountability: Managing costs and resources in a way that holds each department responsible for efficiently using the resources.
Why is FinOps necessary?
With the rise of cloud and SaaS solutions, it becomes more and more complicated to track corporate spending. One of the biggest advantages of cloud services is their flexibility: companies can quickly increase or decrease their resources to meet immediate needs. However, this also means that if not carefully monitored, costs can easily spiral out of control.
For example: If a company temporarily increases server capacity for a campaign, but then forgets to return it to normal size, unnecessary costs may arise. FinOps helps avoid such situations by providing real-time insight into cloud usage and costs, enabling timely adjustments.
With FinOps, companies can optimize their cloud usage, identify unnecessary expenses, and respond more quickly to changing business needs. In addition, FinOps enables continuous cost optimization, resulting in significant long-term savings.
The role of AWS partners and the benefits of working with a FinOps expert
AWS partners not only provide technology solutions, but also provide FinOps support to help companies effectively manage cloud-related spending. An AWS partner can help balance a company’s development goals and budget by leveraging AWS-native services, custom development, or AWS Marketplace solutions.
How can an AWS partner help you implement FinOps?
Cost optimization: An AWS partner can perform cloud consumption analytics, helping companies understand how cloud resources are being used. These analyzes allow businesses to identify unnecessary costs and optimize resource use. This can be done on AWS platforms or with tools like Cloudcheckr, which not only monitors resource usage, but also offers optimization suggestions and alerts about sudden changes in consumption.
They can also provide access to AWS programs that help reduce the cost of cloud services.
Financial and technical consulting: A key element of the FinOps culture is the shared responsibility of IT and finance teams for cloud use, and AWS partners provide ongoing support for this. One of the most important aspects is for the partner to help you find the intersection of budget constraints and IT strategy. An architect can propose several technological options for a business problem, from which the one that best fits the company’s vision must be selected.
Discounts and cost optimization: AWS partners are familiar with various discount options and pricing models (such as reserved instances or savings plans) that allow companies to achieve significant cost savings. These optimizations provide long-term benefits, especially for larger-scale cloud deployments.
Benefits of working with a FinOps expert
Working with a FinOps expert has many benefits, including cost reduction, increased visibility, and better financial awareness. AWS partners can make companies more efficient not only technologically, but also financially, enabling them to maximize business value from the cloud.
This combined approach, where technology and financial optimization go hand in hand, is the best way for companies to get the most out of their cloud environments.
Don’t hesitate – contact us if you have any questions, so you can fully exploit the potential of the cloud and ensure your company’s financial success in the cloud environment!
