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White Paper · FinOps · Free

The Cloud Cost Forecasting Workbook.

The models, drivers and templates we use to forecast cloud spend within a few percent, across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and OCI. A working spreadsheet, not a theory paper, so finance gets a forecast it can defend.

A cloud cost forecast is only useful if finance believes it. This workbook hands you the same forecasting models we use on engagements, built so you can land within a few percent of actuals and explain every variance.

It is independent and vendor neutral. The methods work the same across all four major clouds, because they are built on consumption drivers and commitment coverage rather than any one provider's tooling. It turns the principles in our FinOps introduction and cloud cost forecasting methods compared into a spreadsheet you can populate today.

What is inside

  1. The driver-based forecasting model: tie spend to business units, not guesses
  2. Run-rate, trend and bottom-up methods, and when each one fits
  3. The commitment coverage layer: modeling reservations, savings plans and CUDs
  4. A seasonality and growth adjustment template
  5. The forecast-versus-actuals variance tracker
  6. The unit-economics sheet: cost per customer, transaction and feature
  7. A rolling twelve-month forecast template, ready to populate
  8. The CFO-ready summary view built on top of the model

Who it is for

FinOps practitioners, platform leads and the finance partners who own the cloud line. Whether you are trying to report cloud cost to the CFO with a number you can stand behind, or building the business case for a FinOps function, the workbook gives you the model and the templates.

If you would rather we build and maintain the forecast with you, that is our FinOps implementation service, on fixed fee, performance fee, or managed. On the performance model, if we save you nothing, you pay nothing.