FinOps engineer: the cloud cost-killer

Increasingly dependent on cloud services, companies have seen the need for technical and financial management of their usage. This is how the FinOps engineer came into being. This cloud specialist knows the services and prices of the various suppliers (AWS, Google, OVH, Microsoft, Adobe, etc.) inside out. Their job? To advise the company's management and the various business lines on their use of cloud services and, above all, to optimise costs.

A contraction of the words finance and operations, FinOps is an approach that involves ensuring that a company uses cloud services as efficiently as possible. This approach relies on one person, the FinOps engineer. The aim is to optimise expenditure by avoiding unnecessary costs and minimising costs without degrading performance.

The FinOps engineer is therefore more a function than a profession. In recent years, the cloud has brought power and flexibility to companies' IT and business needs. Adopted by an increasing number of corporate departments, the cloud, or rather clouds, have, against all expectations, caused corporate infrastructure bills to explode, with each department having its own needs and pay-per-use increasing costs.   

The FinOps engineer has an overview of all cloud uses (public, private and hybrid). His field of intervention covers all sectors of activity. It will analyse costs and study why a given expense is abnormally high. They will propose solutions, such as reducing the length of time data is kept, changing the technical environment, rewriting the code, sharing a cloud between several departments or renegotiating a contract. Behind his cost-killer image, the FinOps engineer's objective is not so much to reduce expenditure as to optimise the value for money of the cloud.

What are the tasks of a finops engineer?

At the crossroads of IT, corporate finance and business, the FinOps engineer's job is to understand, monitor, control and optimise the costs of the company's private and public cloud architectures. They work hand in hand with the IT departments (IT management, cloud engineers, developers, project managers, etc.), as well as with the finance department.

It monitors the costs of cloud solutions and proposes any necessary financial adjustments. He/she is responsible for ensuring ongoing cost optimisation by providing support and raising awareness among business and IT teams. It may suggest pooling or targeted optimisation in connection with projects.

It also ensures consistency of use of the cloud by defining rules of use and best practices, and helps to steer the company's cloud strategy. They manage contracts with cloud suppliers. It uses dashboards to manage costs and monitor usage. It also produces a report on the company's cloud consumption.

He explains the benefits of the cloud to the business (evangelising role) and supports the operational teams in their use of the cloud.

What studies should I do?

The job requires technical expertise in the cloud. It is therefore reserved for engineers (bac +5) or holders of a master's degree in IT (bac +4). Training in management or corporate finance is also recommended, so that you can monitor and optimise cloud costs.

What skills do you need?

The technical skills required of a FinOps engineer are just as important as their interpersonal and managerial skills. Cloud engineers must have a thorough understanding of the mechanisms of cloud infrastructure, be familiar with the commercial offerings of cloud providers and have the skills to communicate with the IT, finance and business departments.

TECHNICAL SKILLS(hard skills / Savoir-faire)

• Good general knowledge of cloud offerings with at least 2 years' experience with a cloud service provider (AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Azure, AliCloud, etc.)
• Knowledge of cloud infrastructures (storage, computing, virtual machines, etc.) and security systems (firewallcloud HSM, proxy, etc.). Vendor certification (GCP or AWS) is recommended.
• Proficiency in data analysis, reporting and visualisation tools (Microsoft Power BI, Google Data Studio, etc.)
• Mastery of budget monitoring methods
• Knowledge of project management and Agile methods
• Mastery of the Office pack
• Fluency in spoken and written English

MANAGERIAL AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS(soft skills)

• Excellent communication skills, particularly with technical teams
• Strong listening skills
• Strong analytical skills, ability to summarise
• Strategic, architectural and cross-functional vision

What does a FinOps engineer earn?

The job of FinOps engineer is still very new. Salaries obviously depend on the sector of activity and the size of the company.

Salaries range from €45,000 gross per annum for juniors to €80,000 per annum for strategic and senior positions.

What are its development prospects?

Bridging the gap between technical and managerial roles, FinOps engineers are capable of progressing in either direction. Their experience of the cloud and its strategic management could lead them to IT or management positions.

What are the attractions and constraints of this job?