IT leaders, working with CFOs, can take several steps to control cloud spending, experts say. While some experts point to IT teams using FinOps practices, Clark says they’re just part of the solution.
“FinOps is helpful for finding obvious waste such as unused resources, but that is a one-time Band-Aid,” he says. “The larger issue is that FinOps often pushes cost responsibility onto developers who have no insight into revenue, margin, or the economic goals of the workload they are building. Cost is a business decision, not a technical decision.”
IT leaders need to work closely with CFOs to set goals for cloud spending that match the needs of the IT team and the goals of the business, says Cloud Capital’s Pingry. CFOs need input on cloud budgets as they eat up a greater portion of revenue, and a good relationship between the CIO and CFO can lead to a better understanding of both departments’ needs, he adds.
