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What is FinOps?

2 min read

FinOps (Financial Operations) is a cultural practice and framework that brings financial accountability to cloud spending. It combines people, processes, and tools to enable organisations to understand cloud costs, make data-driven decisions, and maximise business value from cloud investments. FinOps is not a product or technology—it's an operating model that requires collaboration between IT, Finance, and Business teams.

FinOps is a framework and cultural practice, not a product or technology

  • Brings financial accountability to variable cloud spending

  • Requires collaboration between Engineering, Finance, and Business teams

  • Based on three phases: Inform, Optimise, Operate

  • Platforms like CerteroX deliver FinOps capabilities that enable the practice

Why FinOps Matters

Cloud computing introduced a fundamental shift in IT spending. Traditional IT is capital expenditure (CapEx) with predictable costs. Cloud is operational expenditure (OpEx)—variable and consumption-based.

Challenge

Impact

Challenge

Impact

Variable costs

Monthly bills fluctuate based on usage

Decentralised purchasing

Engineers can spin up resources instantly

Complex pricing

Hundreds of services with different models

No accountability

Teams don't see the cost impact of decisions

Public cloud spending is growing 68% by 2027. FinOps provides the framework to manage this growth efficiently.

The FinOps Framework

The FinOps Foundation defines three iterative phases:

1. Inform

Provide visibility and create accountability through cost allocation, showback/chargeback, and forecasting.

2. Optimise

Identify and implement savings through right-sizing, reserved capacity, and architecture review.

3. Operate

Embed FinOps into ongoing operations through budget management, policy automation, and continuous improvement.

How Certero Supports FinOps Practices

Certero for Cloud delivers FinOps capabilities that enable organisations to implement the FinOps framework effectively. As a FinOps Foundation member, Certero is committed to advancing FinOps practices.

Results

Organisations using Certero for Cloud achieve 25-30% cloud budget reduction within 12 months through disciplined FinOps practices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is FinOps a product I can buy?

No. FinOps is a framework and cultural practice. You can buy tools that enable FinOps (like Certero for Cloud), but implementing FinOps requires organisational change.

Is FinOps just about cutting costs?

No. FinOps is about maximising business value from cloud investments. Cost is a metric, not the only metric.

Last updated: February 2026