FinOps X: A First-Timer’s Insights on Community, Innovation, and ITAM Convergence

ITAM News & Analysis

FinOps X: A First-Timer’s Insights on Community, Innovation, and ITAM Convergence

Last month, I had the privilege of attending the FinOps X Conference in the vibrant city of Barcelona. The event was a powerful showcase of a burgeoning community, cutting-edge frameworks, and ground-breaking advancements in cloud financial management. This was my first time at a FinOps-specific event. The unique energy and the contrasts—and potential synergies—between FinOps and IT Asset Management (ITAM) stuck me.

Here are my three, key takeaways from the conference, along with some reflections on the evolving dynamics between FinOps and ITAM.

1. The Power of Community and Engagement

The first thing that stood out was the sheer vibrancy of the FinOps community. The conference welcomed around 800 attendees, with approximately 500–600 practitioners eager to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and collaborate. The passion and engagement in the room were palpable—a community growing in numbers, maturity, and depth.

The FinOps Foundation has done a remarkable job creating a space where practitioners can thrive. Its frameworks, which underpin the discipline, offer a structured way to manage cloud financial operations, and their growing adoption is a testament to their value. This momentum reminded me of early ITAM conferences, where a collective purpose fuelled progress.

While the weather in Barcelona was less than ideal, the setting at the W Hotel on the coastline added a touch of inspiration. It was a fantastic venue for fostering connection, discussion, and innovation.

2. Breaking New Ground with ‘Scopes’

The FinOps Foundation’s new initiative called “Scopes” was a key discussion topic. Traditionally, FinOps has focused on public cloud cost management, but Scopes aims to extend its reach into other domains, such as SaaS, data centres, and licensing.

This is an exciting development for ITAM practitioners as these areas have long been the bread and butter of ITAM. The potential overlap between FinOps and ITAM practices in these domains opens up opportunities for collaboration—or possibly competition.

Organisations are eager to expand FinOps principles to other areas of their IT landscape. The question is how effectively FinOps and ITAM can align. ITAM has built a strong foundation of expertise in areas like SaaS governance and software licensing. Still, FinOps brings a fresh perspective and a practitioner-led ethos that could prove transformative.

3. FOCUS: Standardising Cloud Billing

Perhaps the most ground-breaking development discussed was the FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS) initiative. In simple terms, FOCUS is an effort to standardise billing data from public cloud providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

Standardisation is a game-changer. By creating a standard format for billing data, FOCUS enables interoperability, automation, and scalability. This effort reminded me of ITAM’s attempts with ISO/IEC standards (e.g., 19770-2 and 19770-3). While those standards had limited adoption, FOCUS appears to be gaining traction quickly, thanks to active vendor participation.

The implications are significant:

• Better Data, Better Decisions: With standardised billing, organisations can compare costs across providers, map usage more effectively, and unlock more significant insights.
• Scaling to SaaS: The FinOps Foundation may also explore how FOCUS can be applied to SaaS billing. Imagine a world where Salesforce or Microsoft 365 provide billing data in a standard format—it could revolutionise SaaS management.
• Automation and Governance: Standardised data can be machine-read and automated, enabling faster and more effective governance.

The FinOps Foundation’s practitioner-first approach has brought vendors to the table in ways ITAM has struggled to achieve. If they can replicate this success in SaaS, it would be transformative for the entire IT management ecosystem.

Where Was ITAM?

Despite the opportunities for alignment, the lack of ITAM representation at the conference surprised me. A few familiar names, such as Flexera, Deloitte, and Synyega, were present, but ITAM practitioners were conspicuously absent.

This lack of presence raises questions about the much-discussed convergence of ITAM and FinOps. While there’s clearly overlap in areas like cloud cost optimisation and governance, the two communities seem to be operating in parallel rather than intersecting.

From my perspective, ITAM’s core strength lies in governance—managing risk and cost across the lifecycle of an asset. FinOps, on the other hand, has its roots in cost optimisation and value delivery. The challenge (and opportunity) lies in bridging these two approaches to create a unified strategy for IT asset and financial management.

Looking Ahead

The FinOps X Conference left me with a sense of optimism and curiosity. The FinOps Foundation’s achievements in building community, driving innovation, and engaging vendors are impressive. Their work with Scopes and FOCUS has the potential to reshape not just FinOps but also ITAM and other adjacent disciplines.

However, there’s still work to be done to bridge the FinOp / ITAM gap. As an industry, we need to engage more actively with the FinOps community, learn from their successes, and explore areas for collaboration.

The ITAM Forum, as an associate member of the FinOps Foundation, is well-positioned to foster this dialogue. By working together, we can seamlessly integrate governance, cost optimisation, and value across all aspects of IT.

Reflecting on my time in Barcelona, events such as this inspire transformation. I look forward to continuing the conversation.

Can’t find what you’re looking for?