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
  (eg. AI or Licensing)
• There may be multiple Scopes within a single type of spend
  (eg. 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. 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.