What is FinOps?
Like DevOps, FinOps is a portmanteau word (a word made by combining two others) and a portmanteau concept. Where DevOps is the joining of development and operations, FinOps is the joining of operations and finance.
Like DevOps, FinOps has arisen from a frustration with siloed business capacities, and again like DevOps, FinOps is a part cultural, part tool-driven practice.
Ultimately, FinOps aims to bring financial accountability to cloud operations, reduce cloud spend and enable budgeting and forecasting by connecting stakeholders and enhancing reporting and decision making.
FinOps vs. cloud cost optimisation
FinOps is often confused with cloud cost optimisation. And while it’s not untrue to say that cloud cost optimisation is a part of FinOps, the former is a narrower goal.
To return to our comparison between FinOps and DevOps, we might say that cloud cost optimisation is like delivering software updates at speed: it’s one output of DevOps, but it doesn’t encompass the ethos and broader objectives.
Moreover, a myopic focus on immediate cloud cost reduction at the expense of a business’s long-term interests is the type of issue FinOps was developed to address.
When IT, finance and business stakeholders have true visibility of their decisions’ impacts, all work better together.
How FinOps impacts sustainability
As a business focused on helping users cut cloud costs and carbon emissions, we wouldn’t write about FinOps without exploring the ways in which it can enhance sustainability in the cloud:
Optimised resource utilisation
Many FinOps practices and tools improve the operational efficiency of cloud environments; this saves on cloud spend, but in many cases, it also means more efficient resource utilisation at the hardware level, meaning less net energy consumption.
Transparency
The degree of transparency offered by FinOps allows teams to make sustainability-informed decisions when assessing new vendors, auditing internal processes or launching new products and services.
By embracing FinOps and GreenOps, businesses can place sustainability at the heart of their strategy.
Culture change
Broadly, FinOps brings a cross-departmental resource awareness, reporting function and accountability. When sustainability is treated as a priority, teams can act quickly and effectively.
At Turn it Off, our mission is to help businesses save on cloud costs and cloud carbon emissions. That’s why we’re proponents of FinOps, GreenOps and enhanced accountability.
12 Finops tools for AWS users
This list covers AWS-specific FinOps tools, FinOps tools for multicloud environments, all-in-one platforms and niche products. We look at each tool’s analytics, forecasting, automation and governance features as well as summing up, in a nutshell, how each might fit into a FinOps team’s strategy and toolset.
1. Kubecost
Kubecost is focused on financial accountability in Kubernetes environments.
It provides real-time insights on cost visibility in Kubernetes environments, allowing costs to be allocated to a range of concepts including deployment and service or business metrics like team and product. Users can also view costs via API for combinations with other dashboards and solutions.
Kubecost focuses on financial visibility over forecasting or automated optimisations, though it can generate automated alerts and best-practice recommendations.
In a nutshell
Kubecost is primarily a reporting tool for Kubernetes users. For a FinOps team, Kubecost won’t be a one-and-done solution —but it makes for a powerful lens into Kubernetes spend and can be used as part of a broader toolset.
2. Densify
Densify is a powerful tool for multicloud environments focussing on advanced analytics and continuous improvements.
Densify enables financial accountability through its cloud cost intelligence module, aimed at providing insight and value to stakeholders in IT and finance. Densify’s capacities stretch to advanced forecasting and planning across multiple cloud environments.
When it comes to automation, Densify offers a broader range than some on this list, automating the management of AWS Savings Plans, cost anomaly detection and right-sizing recommendations.
In a nutshell
For FinOps teams looking to centrally manage a multicloud environment featuring AWS, Densify is a strong all-in-one option. However, for extra insights into your cloud usage, combining Densify with AWS-focused reporting platforms can be helpful.
3. Turn it Off
Turn it Off was designed to do one thing and do it well —help organisations instantly save on their cloud bills and reduce carbon emissions. Our intelligent SaaS-based platform does this by turning off non-production applications, environments and resources when they’re not in use, and allowing you to turn them back on as easily as flipping a light switch.
While some tools focus on delivering a broad range of FinOps capabilities, we designed Turn it Off with simplicity in mind — to enable businesses to make savings immediately and become more sustainable by reducing carbon emissions from day one.
In a nutshell
For FinOps teams looking to integrate a quick way of cutting costs and carbon, Turn it Off can make a great, single-purpose addition to your toolset.
4. Anadot
A FinOps tool after our own hearts, Anodot is an AI-powered solution servicing MSPs and enterprises.
Anodot’s cost usage exploration provides detailed insights and cost allocation according to custom dimensions, including business labels. Anodot’s forecasting boasts a 98.5% accuracy on planned cloud costs.
When it comes to automation, Anodot focuses on recommendations, providing granular information on savings type and impact.
In a nutshell
Anodot utilises machine learning to provide highly granular, accurate and intelligent insights. To take Anodot the extra mile, FinOps teams may want to use a complementary tool to add advanced governance controls.
5. Flexera
Flexera is a powerful multicloud solution, focussing on advanced automation and governance combined with reporting. Flexera’s reporting encompasses a range of dashboards including visibility on on-premise hardware costs.
Flexera likewise offers advanced forecasting, but unlike some other entries, pairs this with options for governance and automation.
Users will gain access to out-the-box and custom policy controls on operations, security and compliance as well as orchestration.
In a nutshell
Flexera offers a powerful solution to FinOps teams looking to govern multicloud and hybrid environments.
6. ProsperOps
ProsperOps is an interesting tool for AWS and GCP users with a focus on automation and continual savings.
Like other tools on this list, ProsperOps provides detailed dashboards for finance and IT stakeholders, with a refreshingly easy setup. However, reporting and forecasting are not the tool’s strengths —with particular limitations on forecasting.
When it comes to automation, however, ProsperOps has a solid offering, algorithmically actioning discounts 24/7. In another twist, ProsperOps charges you only for achieved savings — not a percentage of your overall cloud spend.
In a nutshell
FinOps teams may find a place for ProsperOps as an always-on AWS and GCP savings manager. If your goal is to make savings, ProsperOps can help. Teams may choose other solutions for forecasting.
7. Harness
Harness is a cloud cost management platform with a significant offering in automation and governance as code.
On reporting, Harness offers robust dashboards, allowing users to gain business-orientated cost perspectives into their AWS, Azure, GCP or Kubernetes environments. Harness also provides ample forecasting and budgeting features with automated alerts.
Harness provides a robust governance-as-code offering through Cloud Asset Governance and a range of other automation features.
In a nutshell
Harness is a strong all-in-one FinOps platform, capable of reporting, forecasting and budgeting, with a strong showing in automation and governance. However, some teams may find it better suited to cloud cost management than cloud financial planning.
8. Tanzu CloudHealth
Tanzu CloudHealth is a powerful multicloud platform with ML and GreenOps features, managing over $24B in cloud spend at the time of writing.
As a financial accountability and forecasting tool, Tanzu CloudHealth offers robust and flexible capacities. Moreover, the tool integrates with a wide array of cloud solutions like Datadog, New Relic and Slack for end-to-end observability.
Tanzu offers a range of governance and automation features including migration planning. On top, GreenOps reporting features let users see the impact their cost optimisation is having on their carbon footprint.
In a nutshell
A solid all-in-one (or at least most-in-one) platform choice for enterprise FinOps teams — and some sustainability credentials to boot. However, users may find the cost prohibitive.
9. AWS Cost Explorer
AWS Cost Explorer is a free-to-use tool for basic reporting and automation.
Cost Explorer relies heavily on a user-implemented tagging strategy for financial reporting, which makes it unreliable in ephemeral or large cloud environments. Likewise, Cost Explorer offers some forecasting options, but they’re not as powerful compared to some of the other options here.
As an automation tool, Cost Explorer offers anomaly detection, rightsizing recommendations and a few other basic features.
In a nutshell
As a way for small FinOps teams to gain visibility on their cloud costs, Cost Explorer is adequate.
While it may not offer broader FinOps reporting or governance features, the AWS Cost Explorer API means it may still form part of your FinOps operation.
10. Xosphere
Xosphere, like Turn it Off, was built to achieve one objective reliably and well. Instead of turning off non-production resources, Xosphere seeks to take the unreliability out of AWS Spot Instances via the Xosphere Instance Orchestrator.
The tool doesn’t offer much in the way of reporting or forecasting, but that’s not the aim.
In terms of automation, Xosphere achieves its objective of seamlessly switching workloads to and from AWS Spot Instances with minimal disruption.
In a nutshell
Another FinOps tool with a tight remit, focusing here on reducing cloud costs through AWS Spot Instances. Xosphere is a good option for FinOps teams on AWS cloud infrastructure looking to make extra savings.
11. CloudZero
CloudZero is another multicloud, enterprise-level FinOps tool with strong offerings in all categories. The tool offers ML-powered insights into financial accountability alongside learning gained from your very own CloudZero FinOps account manager.
CloudZero’s cloud cost optimisation offering mostly takes the form of automated anomaly alerts and recommendations. Governance is supported through tagging, though policy enforcement falls a little out of remit.
In a nutshell
CloudZero is a powerful reporting and forecasting tool with a somewhat unique offer of dedicated human support. FinOps teams looking to automate the management of their cloud resources may want to consider other or complimentary options.
12. nOps
nOps is an AWS-exclusive cloud cost optimisation platform focusing on maximising discounts and cost savings on AWS services.
As a reporting tool, nOps provides detailed insights into a range of AWS services such as EKS and Kubernetes with insights at the business and cloud infrastructure level.
Though it would not fit a team looking for advanced forecasting, nOps aims to simplify the continual improvement and cost management of AWS environments through AI-powered automation.
In a nutshell
A FinOps team operating only in an AWS environment handling forecasting via a different method might find what they’re looking for in nOps, particularly if automated cost savings are a key part of their FinOps strategy.
Which of these FinOps tools is right for you?
No list of FinOps tools would be complete without the truism that the tool you need depends on your use case. So, to offer a little more insight, we’ll leave you with a parting thought.
Choosing a FinOps tool is different from choosing a tool to reduce your cloud costs, simplify cost management or enhance cloud governance. Even though you may be reviewing many of the same options, if you’re reading this list, and not a list of tools gathered under the banner of improving cost efficiency, you must analyse each tool according to its value to FinOps strategy.
You might find a tool perfectly suited to one or more of the single outputs of FinOps, such as reducing cloud waste. However, the overall goal of FinOps is to align engineering and finance teams, resource allocation and cloud usage patterns with the overall goals of the business.
To find the right one, we recommend picking a sustainable FinOps consultant to help you place the right product in your overall strategy.
- Cloud Positive offers an AI-driven, sustainability-focussed approach; see their 14-day free trial and automate sustainable practices
- FinOps Ninja is challenge orientated; you could kick off with Ninja’s Sustainable Cloud Hackathon and win prizes for creative ways to cut cloud costs and carbon
- Capgemini helps businesses architect for sustainability through their Business-to-Planet philosophy; they and other consultancies like EY and PWC enable businesses to develop products, re-engineer operations and implement sustainable technologies with a helping hand
A FinOps consultancy can help pick the right solution for your FinOps strategy. But a FinOps consultancy with a sustainability focus can help you align that strategy with your ESG, CSR and carbon-cutting agenda.
Cut carbon and costs at the press of a button
FinOps tools can help businesses embrace sustainability and reduce cloud costs. But not every improvement needs to come at a high price.
Our intelligent SaaS platform allows users to set schedules, rules or use our proprietary AI technology to turn off non-production workloads when they’re not in use.
This makes your engineers’ job as easy as pressing a button. And what’s more, we only charge you a percentage of savings. So, if you don’t reduce costs and carbon, you won’t be charged.
We designed Turn it Off to make reducing cloud spend and carbon emissions simple. We do one thing and we do it well.
All you have to do is sign up.