FinOps in Action

PointFive
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Welcome to FinOps in Action! Join host, Taylor Houck, Each week, as he sits down with FinOps experts to explore the toughest challenges between FinOps and Engineering. This show is brought to you by PointFive - empowering teams to optimize cloud costs with deep detection and remediation tools that drive action.

  1. Building a Cost-Aware Culture in the Age of AI ft. Henrique Amorim, Crayon | Ep #59

    3H AGO

    Building a Cost-Aware Culture in the Age of AI ft. Henrique Amorim, Crayon | Ep #59

    What if the biggest mistake new FinOps teams make isn’t missing savings, but executing them too soon? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Henrique Amorim, Business Analyst and FinOps Specialist at Crayon. He shares an honest look at what it really takes to build a successful FinOps practice. From resisting the urge to immediately slash costs to navigating engineering relationships and preparing for the AI-driven future of cloud spend, this conversation goes far beyond surface-level optimization tips. Henrique breaks down why FinOps isn’t about being the “cost police”. It’s about building influence, trust, and a culture of cost awareness across engineering, finance, and leadership. If you’re working in cloud cost optimization, FinOps, or AI cost management, this episode will challenge how you think about leverage, execution, and long-term impact.   Here’s what we talked about: Why you should treat early cloud savings as strategic leverageThe difference between theoretical savings and truly actionable optimizationsHow AI is reshaping the FinOps functionThe importance of building dashboards, processes, and visibility before scaling savingsWhy some “cost inefficiencies” are actually architectural featuresThe role of community in accelerating your FinOps maturityManaging up: how to communicate FinOps impact to executives 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/  Quote of the Show: “Identify those savings and keep them as an ace up your sleeve while using that as leverage to get your roots in the system.” - Henrique Amorim Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henriqueamorim/ Website: https://www.crayon.com/us/  Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ Transistor: finopsinaction.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

    48 min
  2. Fail Fast, Optimize Smarter: Lessons in FinOps ft. Rense Siegmund, Gasunie | Ep #58

    FEB 26

    Fail Fast, Optimize Smarter: Lessons in FinOps ft. Rense Siegmund, Gasunie | Ep #58

    What is FinOps really? Is it just about cutting cloud costs? In this episode of FinOps in Action, Rense Siegmund, Founder of FinOps Academy and FinOps Lead at Gasunie, shares a practical perspective on what FinOps actually is and why it’s about far more than technical cloud optimization. With a background in coaching and team development, he brings a unique lens to cloud cost management: collaboration, culture, and data-driven decision-making. If you’ve ever wondered how to scale FinOps beyond a single practitioner, or how small and mid-sized organizations can manage $1M–$3M in annual cloud spend without a dedicated FinOps team, this conversation is packed with insight. Here’s what we talked about: The realities of FinOps for smaller organizations managing $150K–$3M in annual cloud spendHow to embed FinOps into company OKRs and governanceWhy behavior change starts with small, repetitive actionsThe growing impact of AI as a cloud cost driverThe importance of “fail fast, learn fast” in cloud cost optimizationWhy collaboration between engineering, finance, and leadership is the biggest challenge in FinOps 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/  Quote of the Show: “Behavior comes from repetitive small actions, so the sooner you get the first actions in the organization, the easier it becomes.” - Rense SiegmundLinks: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rense-siegmund-0b363b1b/ Website: https://www.gasunie.nl/en FinOps Academy: https://finopsacademy.nl/ Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ Transistor: finopsinaction.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

    35 min
  3. How Culture, Governance, and Visibility Drive Business Value ft. Tamara Lajara, SoftwareOne | Ep #57

    FEB 19

    How Culture, Governance, and Visibility Drive Business Value ft. Tamara Lajara, SoftwareOne | Ep #57

    Why do so many FinOps programs struggle to prove business value? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Tamara Lajara, FinOps Principal Consultant at SoftwareOne, to break down what real FinOps value looks like and why culture, governance, and visibility matter just as much as savings.  Drawing from more than a decade of consulting experience across industries, cloud maturity levels, and organizational cultures, Tamara shares why FinOps succeeds when people, process, and technology are aligned and fails when even one of those elements is ignored. This conversation dives deep into the realities FinOps practitioners face: getting engineering buy-in, navigating organizational politics, avoiding costly long-term cloud commitments, and proving value when ROI isn’t immediate or obvious. Here’s what we talked about: Why FinOps fails when it’s framed only as cost optimizationHow to think about FinOps value across four key pillars: optimization, governance, culture, and visibilityHow to get engineering buy-in when savings aren’t immediate or obviousThe risks of “lift, shift, and commit” cloud strategiesWhy tagging, governance, and accountability unlock future savingsWhat AI will (and won’t) replace in FinOpsHow cloud-native teams think differently about FinOps than legacy organizations 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/  Quote of the Show: “It’s about finding the right motivation for each team, not assuming everyone thinks the same way.” - Tamara Lajara Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaralajara/ Website: https://www.softwareone.com/en-us  Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ Transistor: finopsinaction.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

    36 min
  4. Why FinOps Fails Without People: Power of Centers of Excellence ft. Trig Ghosh, Accenture | Ep #56

    FEB 12

    Why FinOps Fails Without People: Power of Centers of Excellence ft. Trig Ghosh, Accenture | Ep #56

    Why does FinOps work better when teams own outcomes instead of being told what to do? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Trig Ghosh, FinOps SME at Accenture Federal Services, certified FinOps instructor, and founding contributor to the Cloud Efficiency Hub, to unpack what actually drives lasting FinOps success. Trig shares hard-earned lessons from building a FinOps Center of Excellence, aligning finance and engineering teams, and leading FinOps initiatives without a formal full-time team. From incentive alignment to leadership mindset, this episode goes deep on what it really takes to operationalize FinOps inside complex organizations.   Here’s what we talked about: What a FinOps Center of Excellence is, and how it differs from a traditional FinOps teamHow to align finance, engineering, security, and leadership around shared incentivesWhy over-provisioning happens, and how to work with engineers instead of against themHow recognition and ownership drive better FinOps outcomes than mandatesTrig’s practical definition of what FinOps actually isHow FinOps is evolving in a world of AI-driven cloud spend 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/  Quote of the Show: “ To lead a FinOps team, you have to understand the incentives of all of these different personas. You have to be able to step into their shoes.” - Trig GhoshLinks: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trig-ghosh/ Website: https://www.accenture.com/us-en Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ Transistor: finopsinaction.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

    32 min
  5. How To Drive Value Without Relying on Cost Savings Alone ft. Rohit Mishra, Avaloq | Ep #55

    FEB 5

    How To Drive Value Without Relying on Cost Savings Alone ft. Rohit Mishra, Avaloq | Ep #55

    Why can’t FinOps teams rely on cost savings alone? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Rohit Mishra, Head of Cloud FinOps at Avaloq, to challenge the idea that FinOps is only about cost optimization. Drawing from over a decade of experience in cloud infrastructure and capacity management, Rohit explains why cost savings are just the starting point, and how mature FinOps teams drive long-term value by shifting left into architecture, design, and decision-making. Rohit shares lessons from his early FinOps journey, including what he got wrong when trying to optimize everything alone, and why collaboration across infrastructure, application, finance, and architecture teams is critical to success. He breaks down how speaking the right “language” to each team builds trust, unlocks execution, and accelerates impact. He also explores how FinOps teams justify their value when cost savings plateau, covering topics like cost allocation, tagging governance, forecasting, and capacity planning. Finally, Rohit offers practical advice for FinOps practitioners at every stage, including why early wins matter, how to earn executive buy-in, and where FinOps as a discipline is still underdeveloped. Here’s what we talked about: Why cost optimization is only one piece of Cloud FinOpsWhat “shifting left” really means and how it prevents cloud wasteHow FinOps teams collaborate with architects, engineers, and financeHow to justify FinOps value beyond direct cost savingsWhy early wins and low-hanging fruit are critical for management buy-inWhere FinOps is heading as cloud environments grow more complex 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/  Quote of the Show: “ Shifting left is going to be a very important turning point in how FinOps is perceived amongst different teams and how FinOps is actually done.” - Rohit MishraLinks: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit-mishra-6aa1bb14b/ Website: https://www.avaloq.com/ Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ Transistor: finopsinaction.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

    39 min
  6. The Hidden Role of Fear in FinOps ft. Marit Hughes, Deloitte | Ep #54

    JAN 29

    The Hidden Role of Fear in FinOps ft. Marit Hughes, Deloitte | Ep #54

    How do FinOps leaders make better cloud decisions when every organization is different? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Marit Hughes, one of the most experienced FinOps practitioners in the industry, to explore what actually drives good (and bad) cloud cost decisions. With over a decade of hands-on experience managing cloud spend, from early AWS billing days to today’s multi-cloud, AI-driven environments, Marit shares why business alignment, communication, and fear play a far bigger role in FinOps outcomes than dashboards alone. We also covered how FinOps changes across industries, why benchmarking often misleads teams, and how fear quietly drives overprovisioning, missed optimization opportunities, and decision paralysis. Here’s what we talked about: Why FinOps practices don’t translate cleanly between organizationsHow fear influences cloud architecture, optimization, and commitment decisions What FinOps practitioners get wrong about benchmarking and “best practices”Why communication breakdowns often matter more than cost overruns How FinOps is shifting left into planning, architecture, and strategy What the future of forecasting looks like in a world of AI, SaaS, and variable usage 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/  Quote of the Show: “ If security is job zero, FinOps should be job 0.5.” - Marit HughesLinks: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marit-hughes/ Website: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en.html Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ Transistor: finopsinaction.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

    44 min
  7. Why Cloud Efficiency Is More Than Just Right-Sizing ft. Rick Triana, IHG Hotels | Ep #53

    JAN 22

    Why Cloud Efficiency Is More Than Just Right-Sizing ft. Rick Triana, IHG Hotels | Ep #53

    Can developing soft skills like communication and conflict resolution accelerate FinOps maturity faster than tooling? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Cloud FinOps Manager at IHG Hotels & Resorts, Rick Triana, to explore why cost savings are actually the smallest part of FinOps, and why focusing on “spend reduction” can stunt your FinOps maturity. Rick shares how he evolved from treating FinOps as a cost-cutting function to building a value-driven program rooted in leadership, communication, and accountability. He explains why most right-sizing recommendations fail, how to avoid losing trust with engineering, and what FinOps “nirvana” really looks like. We also break down Rick’s value–effort–risk prioritization framework, how to influence without authority, and why soft skills matter more than technical expertise in this field.   Here’s what we talked about: Why focusing only on savings misses the true purpose of FinOps: maximizing business valueHow communication and soft skills matter more than technical tools in driving adoptionRick’s value × effort × risk scoring model for prioritizing optimization workWhy dashboards drive awareness but chargeback drives accountabilityHow FinOps teams mature through the crawl–walk–run lifecycle — and how practitioners mature personally, tooWhat separates seasoned FinOps leaders from those who only know right-sizing and savings plans 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/  Quote of the Show: “If that’s your focus is just saving money, I think you missed the big picture.” - Rick Triana Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardotriana/ Website: https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/us/en/reservation Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ Transistor: finopsinaction.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

    43 min
  8. Disrupting Cloud Chaos ft. Jarred Clore, Cisco | Ep #52

    JAN 15

    Disrupting Cloud Chaos ft. Jarred Clore, Cisco | Ep #52

    What does FinOps look like at massive enterprise scale? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Jarred Clore, Cloud FinOps Delivery Leader at Cisco and the first AWS hire focused on cloud cost optimization.  Jarred shares candid stories from his early days helping Fortune 500 companies navigate cloud cost shock (including getting yelled at by customers) and the hard lessons he learned about culture, executive sponsorship, and the limits of “hoping for the best.” He breaks down why rate optimization often beats engineering optimizations in terms of impact, how to balance usage vs. commitment decisions, and why starting vendor negotiations early can save more money than most technical tuning efforts. Jarred also explains Cisco’s unique hybrid model for FinOps and why centralized governance paired with distributed ownership drives the best results. We also covered how culture—not tooling—is often the biggest barrier to FinOps success, and why executive sponsorship is essential for driving change inside large organizations.   Here’s what we talked about: Why executive sponsorship is the make-or-break factor in FinOpsThe difference between “FinOps in action” and “FinOps in action”Why rate optimization is often the biggest untapped savings opportunityCisco’s hybrid model: centralized governance with distributed ownershipHow to automate safely without breaking critical workloadsHow to balance usage optimization with commitment–based discounts  🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/  Quote of the Show: “Optimization is supposed to be a concurrent task with innovation. It’s not supposed to be an afterthought.” - Jarred Clore Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarred-clore/ Website: https://www.cisco.com/ Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ Transistor: finopsinaction.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

    40 min
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About

Welcome to FinOps in Action! Join host, Taylor Houck, Each week, as he sits down with FinOps experts to explore the toughest challenges between FinOps and Engineering. This show is brought to you by PointFive - empowering teams to optimize cloud costs with deep detection and remediation tools that drive action.

Information

  • Creator
    PointFive
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © PointFive