Framework Overview / 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
Scopes are driven by the business & technology strategy
We can visualize the concept of creating a FinOps Scope by viewing the Framework poster from the top-down. In these examples, the FinOps Scope for AI and the FinOps Scope for Licensing each determine which Personas, Domains, and Capabilities will be involved.
Through our work with the community, TAC, and Working Groups, the initial FinOps Scopes identified were Public Cloud, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Data Center.
Public Cloud remains the primary Scope, as the practice of FinOps was born to address the cost management challenges that arose with the introduction of cloud.
In the Public Cloud Scope, FinOps brings financial transparency, collaboration, and accountability to cloud spending, ensuring that companies can innovate while keeping their cloud costs under control and aligned with business goals. Most organizations will start with FinOps for public cloud as their initial Scope.
In the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Scope, the challenges of managing public cloud spending are mirrored in the proliferation of SaaS resources across organizations via decentralized, individual-level procurement and corporate-credit-card-funded purchase orders, resulting in limited organizational visibility into cost and usage. Pricing models vary from license-based SaaS, to variable-spend models such as per user/device, tiered, consumption-based, flat rate, and feature add-ons. By iteratively applying Framework Capabilities, financial transparency and accountability can be established for SaaS spending alongside public cloud spending.
In the Data Center Scope, FinOps teams develop a strategy for on-premises infrastructure by moving from traditional capacity planning with an upfront purchase model toward a consumption-based usage and cost model. Working with Core and Allied Personas, the FinOps Practitioner’s ways of working shift the organizational culture from the traditional finance, procurement, and technology siloes to a collaborative, data-driven environment that facilitates planning, cost analytics and optimization. By leveraging Framework Capabilities, teams managing on-premises infrastructure can move beyond a hardware-centric focus. Teams are enabled to enhance migration strategies, optimize workload placement, and ultimately improve data center Unit Economics.
