Cloud FinOps Optimization

Cloud spend leaks for the same reason all usage-based spend leaks: you pay for what you do not track and do not own.

Common causes:

• missing tags and unclear cost ownership
• no policy for new resources (anything can be created)
• idle and orphaned resources accumulate
• commitment discounts are used inconsistently
• budgets and unit costs are not monitored weekly

This collection installs a beginner-safe operating system:

• tagging and cost ownership that Finance can trust
• commitment discount and rightsizing decision rules
• a repeatable waste detection and cleanup cadence
• a savings estimator and memo to align Engineering, Finance, and Procurement

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Who this collection is for

• Finance leaders trying to control cloud spend without guessing
• Engineering and platform teams responsible for cloud usage
• Procurement teams negotiating cloud commitments and usage-based vendors
• Operators who want fewer surprises and better forecasting

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What you will install

By the end of this collection you should have:

• a minimum tagging standard and cost ownership model
• a commitment discount strategy and rightsizing rules
• a weekly waste cleanup process with owners and evidence
• a quantified savings opportunity estimate with a memo template

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How to use this collection

Install in this order:

1. Tagging and cost ownership
2. Commitment discounts and rightsizing
3. Waste detection and cleanup operating system
4. Savings opportunity estimator and 30 / 60 / 90 plan

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Beginner-safe definitions

FinOps: a practice for managing cloud cost with shared ownership between Finance and Engineering.

Tagging: metadata that assigns cost ownership (team, product, environment, cost center).

Rightsizing: adjusting compute resources to match actual usage.

Commitment discounts: savings plans or reserved instances that trade flexibility for lower rates.

Egress: data transfer out of a cloud provider, often a hidden cost driver.

Unit cost: cost per meaningful unit, such as cost per transaction or cost per active user.

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What good looks like

• most spend is attributed to a team and environment
• budgets align to owners and alerts trigger early
• idle resources are cleaned weekly, not annually
• commitment discounts are used intentionally and reviewed quarterly
• savings show up in run-rate, not one-time firefighting