Cloud Costs are Spiralling. Is Full Stack FinOps the Answer? - Guest blog from NTT Data

As Communication Service Providers (CSPs) grapple with spiralling cloud costs across public, private and hybrid environments, many companies are coming to the same conclusion: current FinOps practices only address part of the challenge.

The cloud isn’t going away, but after a push-and-pull period of public cloud spending and repatriation, many CSPs remain frustrated by mounting complexities and costs with their cloud deployments, especially around efficient workload placement and cost-effective scaling.

72% of global companies exceeded their set cloud budgets in FY23/24. This alarming statistic underscores the need for CSPs to put together clear and considered plans of action to tackle the growing costs of cloud adoption—wherever it’s deployed.

The limitations of traditional FinOps

To regain full control of cloud expenditures, CSPs need a holistic approach that unifies visibility, governance, and optimisation across their entire cloud footprint. We need to shift mindsets and capabilities towards new cloud-native approaches and modern working practices like DevSecOps.

By embracing a "Full Stack" FinOps strategy, CSPs can harmonise cost management practices, align cloud investments with business objectives, and unlock the true value of their cloud deployments.

What is Full Stack FinOps?

A Full Stack FinOps approach offers a unique solution to CSPs’ challenges. It’s designed to cover all cloud hosting environments, including private cloud on-premises, public cloud, and hybrid environments, delivering a holistic view of cost and efficiency across all platforms.

At the heart of this approach is the integration of multidisciplinary FinOps teams and a near real-time single Source of Truth (SoT). This powerful combination ensures that CSPs have a unified understanding of their cloud expenditure, enabling them to make data-driven decisions and optimise their cloud investments wherever they’re deployed.

In a hybrid environment, we must adapt and build on the four FinOps domains and extend them to cover all aspects of cloud usage and costs, including:

1. Data ingestion with normalised data – a consistent data format acts as a foundation for strong decision-making, such as identifying the best cost-to-value platform to host workloads.
2. Managing shared costs across platforms –  this can align both capital expenditures and operational expenses with the development of cloud-native services and commitments in a hybrid cloud environment.
3. Reporting and analytics – solid reporting and analytics can give participating teams a clear breakdown of their costs across all cloud environments.
4. Measurement of unit costs – this allows stakeholders to see, from a business perspective, the cost per user or other unit for any given service.

This allows stakeholders to see, from a business perspective, the cost per user or other unit for any given service. An integrated approach, enabled by Full Stack FinOps, delivers alignment between toolsets, processes, and governance. This simplifies management and optimisation, while permanently reducing costs and maximising the potential of existing investments.

Make cloud work for you

Full Stack FinOps unlocks tangible benefits that can fundamentally reshape how CSPs perceive and utilise the cloud:

• Significant savings on cloud costs: By gaining visibility into their cloud expenditure across all environments, CSPs can identify areas for optimisation and implement cost-saving measures, such as improved utilisation, right-sizing resources, and identifying and eliminating waste.
   
• Improved cloud environment efficiency: Full Stack FinOps promotes a service-based view of environment and workload placement, empowering CSPs to make data-driven decisions that maximise efficiency and performance. This approach allows CSPs to consider factors such as cost, value, and sustainability when determining the optimal hosting solution for each workload.
   
• Better alignment with strategic goals: With a comprehensive understanding of their cloud costs and usage patterns, CSPs can align their cloud investments with their overall business objectives, ensuring a sustainable and cost-effective approach. This includes supporting long-term decisions on where to invest and enabling competitive strategies.

Get started with Full Stack FinOps

Managing cloud economics isn’t straightforward, but it is achievable. By embracing a Full Stack FinOps approach, CSPs can regain control over their cloud expenditures and optimise their cloud investments.

Authors: 

Stavros Markogiannakis, Senior Director, Technical Solutions Architecture - Telco, Media & Technology (TMT), NTT DATA UK&I
Jonathan Wood, Senior Director FinOps and Cloud Optimisation Solution Lead, NTT DATA UK&I