FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification 1.0-preview Released to Demystify Cloud Billing Data

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Nov 16, 2023, 08:30 ET

FOCUS 1.0 launches with formal support of major cloud providers AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Oracle Cloud

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The FinOps Foundation, a part of The Linux Foundation's non-profit technology consortium, focused on advancing the people and practice of FinOps, today announced the launch of FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS) version 1.0-preview, the first major release. AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud join large cloud spenders like CapitalOne, Walmart, Workday, Goldman Sachs, and others as formal contributor aligning to this universal cloud billing specification. The 1.0-preview is available on November 16 on focus.finops.org.

FOCUS is a foundational project for the FinOps discipline to create an open specification for the presentation of cost and usage data, aimed at demystifying cloud spend and making it easier to show and report value. The goal of the FOCUS project is to normalize schema and terminology for cost and usage data, helping organizations to achieve consistency and simplicity of understanding cost and usage across cloud, SaaS, and other relevant providers and data sets.

"We are establishing FOCUS as the cornerstone lexicon of FinOps by providing an open-source, vendor-agnostic specification featuring a unified schema and language," said Mike Fuller CTO at the FinOps Foundation. "With this release, we are paving the way for FOCUS to foster collaboration among major cloud providers, FinOps vendors, leading SaaS providers, and forward-thinking FinOps enterprises to establish a unified, serviceable framework for cloud billing data, increasing trust in the data and making it easier to understand the value of cloud spend."

"We're thrilled to see FOCUS gathering momentum," said Tim O'Brien, Walmart Senior Director of Engineering. "Having a vendor-neutral view of all cloud resources will enable us to better engage with cloud partners and better serve our customers and shareholders."

A blog post by Lee Sustar of Forrester Research predicts that the FOCUS standard "will take off to normalize cloud billing," in 2024. With a "vendor-neutral, multi-cloud view of resources," even "non-IT stakeholders, such as the CFO's office and vendor management, (will) better engage with cloud operations teams".

"The basics of good decision-making and execution require clarity of information. FOCUS goes a long way to making that possible and we look forward to even greater innovation in the years ahead," said Anne Johnston, VP of Engineering Cloud Costs at Capital One.

"We are committed to working with the FinOps Foundation to bring together the knowledge and involvement of all major players in cloud billing to benefit all," said Fred Delombaerde,

Corporate Vice President, Commerce Platform & Marketplace at Microsoft.

After the release of the initial FOCUS 0.5 at FinOps X this summer, FOCUS 1.0 includes a multitude of foundational advances, such as extending the specification for the presentation of both Cloud and SaaS data sets and the inclusion of open-source data converter implementations and data validators to accelerate adoption.

To enable broader FinOps capabilities in the cloud, FOCUS 1.0 enables use cases for discount analysis, unit pricing allowing rate transparency, and detailed usage analysis while overlaying business context information via support for tags and resource metadata.

The FOCUS 1.0 release will also include a real-world practitioner use case library, with more than forty commonly performed FinOps use case examples tied to FOCUS data outputs, curated by experienced FinOps practitioners from massive cloud spenders including by Johnston of Capital One. These use cases offer a standardized approach to address common FinOps requirements, leveraging FOCUS data as the foundation. The entire library, along with comprehensive specifications and detailed instructions and SQL queries, is accessible online, simplifying navigation and ensuring users can easily find the resources they need.

For more information and details on how to join the FOCUS project, please visit focus.finops.org

About the FinOps Foundation
The FinOps Foundation is a non-profit trade association focused on advancing the people who manage the value of cloud. It is made up of tens of thousands of FinOps practitioners, service providers and cloud technology providers including those in 48 of the Fortune 50. Grounded in real-world stories, the FinOps Foundation delivers connections to peers, certification, and open source best practices through programs like FinOps Certified Practitioner, the annual FinOps X conference, a FinOps Certified Enterprise program, and FOCUS (FinOps Open Cost & Usage Specification).

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SOURCE FinOps Foundation