FinOps: Insights on Incentives, AI, and Policy.

Featuring a conversation with the senior product manager from Kion Tatum Tummins, we explore the common pitfalls and effective strategies for establishing a cloud cost governance using FinOps.

Discover how to prioritize business value, the role of AI in FinOps, and real-life examples of successful cloud cost governance policies. Whether you're just starting out or looking to advance your FinOps practice, this episode offers invaluable insights.

• (00:00:00) - Incentives for Finops: The Bad
• (00:02:39) - What to Do About FinOps Incentives?
• (00:08:47) - KION Innovation: AI for Finops
• (00:12:43) - Agile and Automation in Financing
• (00:15:32) - Good governance for AI & FinOps
• (00:18:05) - Are AI Uses Necessary in FinOps?
• (00:20:04) - Cost Management: The Failure
• (00:26:13) - The unit economics of business
• (00:32:23) - How to Establish a Finops Policy Framework
• (00:36:30) - How Did I Get Involved in Kion?
• (00:38:56) - Getting it out there: FinOps

We talk about cloud billing & finance management, accounting with a FinOps specialist from British Airways. Magda & I cover cloud billing, invoicing reconciliation, understanding cost allocation, handling cost anomalies, and best practices for creating actionable financial reports.

• (00:00:00) - Coming soon: The Finance of Cloud Invoicing
• (00:00:56) - What's The Confusing Cloud Invoices?
• (00:04:12) - Top 3 Cloud Bill Surprises
• (00:06:33) - How to reconcile multiple invoices in a multi-cloud environment
• (00:09:52) - What is the most expensive mistake you have made?
• (00:12:41) - On Showback vs. Chargeback in FinOps
• (00:16:10) - How to Have a Hard Talk about Cost Accountability in Finops
• (00:19:58) - How to escalate a cloud-related issue? (
• (00:23:57) - What does a good report have for you?
• (00:29:34) - Ask for Cloud Provider Discounts
• (00:33:13) - How to improve your invoicing process?
• (00:41:24) - Teaching English to Phenoms

Bridging the gap between cloud cost data and engineering action is the most significant hurdle for modern digital enterprises. This deep dive into data finops explains how to move beyond simple dashboards to create a culture of accountability and measurable business value.

Most organizations struggle with analysis paralysis where visibility exists but action remains stagnant. We explore how to reconnect metrics to business outcomes that engineers actually care about and how to shift the conversation from technology costs to product margins. By treating cloud cost management as a strategic planning session rather than an accounting report, teams can free up budget for innovation and faster feature delivery.

This episode provides a tactical framework brought by Zach Johnson, Head of FinOps at Splunk for building a FinOps Center of Excellence, mastering monthly reviews, and implementing unit economics to quantify the value of every dollar spent in the cloud. Whether you are a finance lead or an engineering manager, these insights will help you transition from reactive cost-cutting to proactive business enablement.

• (00:00:00) - FinOps Quickly
• (00:00:44) - Why Data and Dashboards Don't Spark Action in Finops
• (00:03:30) - What is the best way to get rid of on-demand spend
• (00:07:00) - PayPal's monthly FinOps Review
• (00:09:29) - How to Structure a Monthly Review
• (00:11:35) - How to Keep the Stakeholders Engaged
• (00:13:14) - How to Have a Successful Finops Meeting
• (00:20:12) - FinOps: The Business of IT
• (00:27:49) - Building a FinOps Center of Excellence
• (00:29:44) - What are the critical roles in a more advanced company?
• (00:32:27) - What do you think are one of the most critical factors that create
• (00:34:09) - How to Build the CoE: Year 3
• (00:37:34) - FREENOS: How to Build a FinOps Practice