FOCUS 1.0: A New Era for Billing Data

FinOps Foundation
FOCUS 1.0 Launch on GA!

The FinOps Foundation has announced during the FinOps X Event in San Diego the General Availability of the FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS™) Version 1.0, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at simplifying cloud billing data for FinOps practitioners.

FOCUS™ facilitates cost analysis, spend allocation, and other financial operations by providing a unified format for cloud bills. Supported by major cloud providers, it promises to reduce complexity and enable better financial management of cloud resources.

The specification is set to evolve with future updates, as J.R. announced they are already working on version 1.1 during the keynote. The goal is to extend its reach beyond cloud IaaS to encompass SaaS and other consumption billing data.

The adoption of FOCUS™ empowers organizations with normalized cloud spend data and sets the stage for more strategic financial operations in the cloud ecosystem.

Companies
PointFive Raises $16M in Seed Funding

PointFive, a company at the forefront of cloud cost optimization, has secured $16 million in seed funding. For those who don’t know the company:

• PointFive offers an end-to-end solution that identifies and implements significant cost-saving opportunities, typically between 15-30% of total cloud spend.

• The founding team, with a successful track record from their previous cybersecurity startup, brings expertise in executing at scale.

• Strategic Partnerships: Their deep analysis of AWS costs has earned them promotion by AWS itself, highlighting their unique market position.

Success Stories
Popular Ed-Tech Edureka Reduces AWS Costs by 33%

Large Ed-Tech platform Edureka has achieved a significant 33% reduction in monthly AWS costs. Here’s how they did it:

• Operational Challenges: High AWS costs in staging and production were straining the budget.

• WiseOps Partnership Solution: Their algorithm identified inefficiencies, leading to an 18% monthly cost decrease.

• Strategic Tools: Wise Scheduler and Spotting tools helped manage costs effectively.

This case study showcases the importance of cost optimization and efficient cloud management for business growth.

Articles
FinOps targets SaaS as software audit costs spike

Enterprises are facing challenges with software management as cloud-based solutions become more prevalent. Here’s a quick rundown:

• SaaS Spending Waste: Organizations report increased waste in SaaS spending, with difficulty in optimizing software consumption.

• Contract Complexity: The complexity of SaaS contracts is a significant pain point, leading to costly consequences.

• FinOps Practices: To control costs, tech leaders are adopting FinOps practices, integrating software asset managers with cloud teams.

• Vendor Audits: IT and software asset managers are often preoccupied with vendor audits, particularly from Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle.

This shift to the cloud requires careful navigation to avoid financial pitfalls and optimize software investments. Info from Flexera ITAM Report 2024.

🎖️ Mention of Honour
FinOps X San Diego Recap – Part 1

FinOps X 2024 has been a great event! As you may have observed on LinkedIn, many announcements and learning have taken place in San Diego.

We are considering a special issue for the FinOps X content once everything is released to the public. In the meantime, here are some key points:

• FOCUS 1.0 General Availability Announcement. A New Era for Cloud Billing Data.

• There Are No Runners. One of the key “mantras” of the FinOps X edition, is to encourage the constant process of FinOps in Orgs. Check the FinOps Foundation Article on the topic!

Day 1 Keynote:

• Elly Rauch from The Walt Disney Company on FinOps for massive scale, keeping legacy systems and complex environments.

• VP Cloud panel with all major cloud providers sharing their vision on the future of FinOps!

• Clément Leroux shared Gitlab’s experience with adopting FOCUS.

• Sarah Keller and Chavis Richardson from Uber on RPA bots for invoicing and correcting wrong billing pricing.

Day 2 Keynote:

• Google Cloud announced support for FOCUS 1.0 along with the inclusion of GenAI to increase FinOps capabilities. They also shared CUD scenario modeling.

• Microsoft to include Copilot support for Cost report analysis, targeting mainly engineers. Savings plan covered services to expand.

• AWS announced FOCUS support on the Cloud Cost Exports and the release of the FOCUS dashboard.

The complete summary of all Cloud Providers News is shared by Ruben Vander Stockt here

Kudos to Frank Contrepois for sharing everything on LinkedIn!

Bonus
📰 More News

For those seeking more content, this section will provide additional resources.

• Azure Functions Flex Consumption on Public Preview. Shared by Alfonso San Miguel on LinkedIn

• Kubecost 2.3 Release

• Spot by NetApp achieves FinOps Foundation Cloud Certified Platform

That’s all for this week. See you next Sunday!

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