FinOps Scopes

A FinOps Scope is a segment of technology-related spending to which FinOps Practitioners apply FinOps concepts.

With FinOps Scopes, practitioners create the context that drives how to apply the FinOps Framework. This helps frame conversations and expectations about which Personas, Domains, and Capabilities are in-scope for the FinOps practice.

Scopes are more than a single type of infrastructure

• A Scope may operate across multiple types of infrastructure (e.g. AI or Licensing)
• There may be multiple Scopes within a single type of spend (e.g. Public Cloud)
• Unique KPIs and thresholds for metrics may be associated with a Capability in a Scope, even if that Capability is included in other Scopes

Scopes are driven by the business & technology strategy

• Organizations can determine their own custom FinOps Scope(s) based on the mix of technologies and spend that is important to their business
• Framework Capabilities can be prioritized or excluded by Scope based on business objectives
• FinOps Personas can be engaged or excluded as appropriate for each FinOps Scope

Scopes determine which Personas, Domains, and Capabilities are Engaged

We can visualize the concept of creating a FinOps Scope by viewing the Framework poster from the top-down.

For example: a Framework poster highlighting a sample FinOps Scope for AI — or highlighting a sample FinOps Scope for Licensing — each individually surface which Personas, Domains, and Capabilities may be involved as driven by business and technology priorities.

Public Cloud

Public Cloud remains the foundational FinOps Scope, since the practice of FinOps emerged to address the cost management challenges of cloud.

Cloud+

Feedback from the FinOps community, FinOps Foundation Working Groups, and conversations with the TAC identified that FinOps teams are managing additional scopes (Cloud+) of technology spend.  FinOps Scopes for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and for Data Center are the first to be listed in the FinOps Framework alongside Public Cloud.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

A sample Framework poster highlighting which Personas, Domains, and Capabilities may be involved in the FinOps Scope for SaaS as driven by business and technology priorities.

Data Center

A sample Framework poster highlighting which Personas, Domains, and Capabilities may be involved in the FinOps Scope for Data Center as driven by business and technology priorities.