Is FinOps consultancy right for your business?

Before we start looking into any details, let’s look at what FinOps actually is.

According to the FinOps Foundation‘s definition, FinOps is an operational framework and cultural practice which maximises the business value of cloud, enables timely data-driven decision making, and creates financial accountability through collaboration between engineering, finance, and business teams.

Sounds good? Well, it certainly is. But does that mean it’s a solution that fits all? Not necessarily.

To decide whether it’s good for your particular case, it’s important to take into consideration factors such as your cloud usage, complexity of your infrastructure, your goals, expertise and resources as well as your budget.

In some cases benefits of FinOps solutions can be more limited and it’s always essential to think about the costs they imply.

How can a FinOps consultant transform your financial strategy?

Definitions explained, but how can a FinOps consultant actually transform your financial strategy?

The short answer is that it can be done by implementing practices and processes that aim at optimising cloud spending and aligning financial goals with operational objectives.

Ways to do it include analysing your existing cloud spending, implementing effective cost allocation strategies, setting realistic budgets based on your usage patterns and goals, identifying unused or underutilised resources and recommending strategies for elimination waste.

FinOps consultants bring discipline, visibility and efficiency to your cloud spending, helping you achieve better cost control, optimise resource usage and align financial objectives with overall business goals.

The benefits of FinOps consulting for your business

Introducing FinOps consulting to your business can bring you a number of benefits and significantly impact your cost management, operational efficiency and financial decision-making, contributing to the competitiveness of your business and to your general success.

Here are the most important benefits you should expect when introducing FinOps consulting to your organisation:

Streamlining financial operations

Streaming financial operations is one of the most important FinOps consulting benefits.

FinOps practices provide detailed insights into your cloud spending, offering transparency and visibility into where your financial resources are allocated.

FinOps consultants help break down costs by project, team, or business unit, providing a granular view of expenses which enables more accurate financial tracking and facilitates streamlined allocation of resources.

Cloud costs optimisation and financial governance

When it comes to cloud cost management and financial governance, FinOps consultants analyse your cloud infrastructure to identify unused or underutilised resources helping eliminate unnecessary costs.

They also optimise resource sizes to match actual workloads, preventing over-provisioning and maximising cost efficiency.

FinOps practices help identifying cost saving opportunities as well as inefficient processes or configurations that contribute to higher costs and help in ensuring compliance with industry regulations and internal financial governance standards, reducing the risk of financial and operational non-compliance.

Budget forecasting and improved financial transparency

FinOps consultants assist in setting realistic budgets based on historical data and usage patterns.

This precision in budgeting allows for better cloud financial management and ensures that financial operations align with business goals.

FinOps methodologies involve forecasting future cloud costs based on historical trends. This helps in anticipating financial requirements accurately, streamlining budgeting and resource allocation processes.

What’s more, FinOps provides a detailed breakdown of cloud costs, offering transparency into where financial resources are allocated.

Risk management

FinOps consultants identify and manage potential risks related to cloud spending.

By implementing risk mitigation strategies, businesses can streamline their financial operations and reduce the likelihood of financial setbacks.

The potential downsides of FinOps consulting

Before you decide to embark on your FinOps journey, it’s worth knowing about the potential downsides of such a solution.

1. The first one is the cost of implementation and tools – engaging FinOps consultants and implementing FinOps practices and tools can incur upfront costs, which may be challenging for smaller businesses.
2. The second one is its complexity: FinOps involves complex methodologies and tools, and training employees to understand and implement FinOps practices may require time and effort.
3. The third one is the integration challenge: integrating FinOps practices into existing systems and workflows may be difficult, but ensuring seamless integration with existing tools and processes is crucial to avoid disruptions.

It’s also important to remember about security and compliance risks: rapid changes in cloud infrastructure for cost optimisation might inadvertently introduce security or compliance risks.

Maximising your ROI with FinOps consulting: tips and strategies

Maximising your Return on Investment (ROI) with FinOps consulting involves implementing strategies that not only optimise cloud spending but also align with your business goals.

Here are tips and strategies to help you get the most value from FinOps consulting:

1. Define your business objectives.
2. Establish a cross-functional team involving finance, operations and engineering professionals.
3. Invest in training to build the skills necessary for effective FinOps management.
4. Set realistic budgets.
5. Negotiate good term with your cloud providers.
6. Implement governance policies to ensure compliance with regulations and internal guideline.
7. Regularly check the performance and set Key Performance Indicators.

For more tips of how to handle your cloud finances have a look at:

• Cloud FinOps Guide
• FinOps: bridging finance and operations in cloud
• Benefits of a Cloud FinOps adoption in your organisation

Selecting the right FinOps consultant for your needs

Thinking about implementing FinOps into your operations?

Before you start, you need to select the right FinOps consultants that will understand your needs and help you achieve your goals according to your cloud strategy.

It’s important to choose wise and go for a company that has significant experience and expertise in providing such solutions to different companies at different stages of their digital transformation.

At Future Processing, we offer a wide range of cloud consulting services, helping to ensure your systems and components work together to meet your business objectives.

We will be very happy to talk to you about your requirements and check what we can do for you to help you achieve success and bring you maximum business value. Do get in touch!