The question of when to start FinOps often arises, especially amidst the numerous discussions, blogs, and sales pitches emphasizing cost optimization. Many assume that FinOps should begin when cloud spending reaches a certain threshold. While this perspective has merit—a large cloud bill can unveil significant savings opportunities—real-world experiences suggest otherwise. Surprisingly, a well-managed team with high cloud costs might benefit less from FinOps than an organization with smaller, distributed cloud deployments.
Why Start FinOps Early?
Successful FinOps doesn’t depend on massive cloud usage or a multimillion-dollar budget. Starting early enables organizations to make well-informed decisions about cloud expenses as they grow. The “Crawl, Walk, Run” model—a concept we’ll explore in future blogs—is a proven framework for scaling FinOps practices.
However, it’s important to note that no organization can leap from zero to perfect FinOps overnight. FinOps requires a step-by-step approach where teams learn, adapt, and refine processes collaboratively. Similar to DevOps, FinOps is a cultural transformation. The earlier this transformation begins, the sooner businesses can achieve effective cloud cost management.
Day 1 is the Best Time to Start FinOps
From experience, the ideal time to introduce FinOps is on Day 1 of your cloud journey. Early adoption helps integrate FinOps into your operational DNA, allowing processes to evolve naturally as your cloud usage scales. Typically, companies adopt FinOps under two scenarios:
1. Reacting to Overspending:
This is the most common scenario. Here, cloud costs spiral out of control, prompting leadership to intervene. While effective in halting waste, this reactive approach often slows innovation and migrations, creating unnecessary disruptions.
2. Proactive Implementation:
Forward-thinking companies take a more measured approach. They adopt FinOps gradually, in alignment with their maturity level. For instance, a single individual may start by organizing cloud accounts, creating labels, and implementing basic tagging. Over time, as the organization matures, these efforts scale into a comprehensive FinOps practice.
The First Steps in FinOps
No matter how FinOps adoption begins, the initial priority is gaining real-time visibility into cloud costs. With transparency, teams can identify and address potential overruns before they escalate. Simultaneously, FinOps teams can start fostering collaboration across the organization, embedding FinOps principles into everyday practices.
Why Early Adoption Matters
Starting FinOps early maximizes its impact. The cultural shift or practice ensures smarter decision-making, better cost management, and greater value from cloud investments from the outset.

The value of starting as early as possible on this cultural shift cannot be overstated, so we can have the value and benefits of FinOps immediately.
In our next blog, we’ll dive deeper into building a FinOps team and embedding FinOps culture into your organization.
Thanks for reading,
Richa