WNiCF - Interview with Erik Norman - Debunking the Iron Triangle
Send us a textShort episode packed with so many ideas and thoughts. In this episode, Frank Contrepois and Stephen Old engage in a thought-provoking discussion with Erik Norman about the principles of FinOps, particularly focusing on the Iron Triangle of project management. They explore the limitations of the Iron Triangle, emphasizing the importance of quality and speed in achieving project goals. The conversation also highlights the necessity of education in cloud engineering, the challenges of serverless architectures, and the misconceptions surrounding vendor lock-in in cloud solutions. The episode is rich with insights and practical advice for professionals in the FinOps and cloud engineering space.TakeawaysThe Iron Triangle is useful but has limited applicability.Quality and speed can coexist without sacrificing cost efficiency.Education is crucial for optimizing cloud costs.Serverless architectures may not always be the most efficient choice.Vendor lock-in is often misunderstood; it exists in many forms.Effective communication between teams is essential for project success.Prioritization in FinOps should consider urgency and importance.Hackathons can foster innovation and efficiency in engineering teams.Cloud-native tools can simplify legacy migration processes.Continuous learning and adaptation are key in cloud environments.
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WNiCF - August 2025 - News
Send us a textIn this episode of What's New in Cloud FinOps, hosts SteveO and Frank discuss the latest advancements in cloud FinOps, including Amazon's new EC2 P6EGB200 Ultra Servers, cloud migration strategies, and innovations in data management and storage. They also explore cost management techniques, pricing changes, and the impact of AI on troubleshooting and monitoring. The conversation wraps up with a call for engaging discussions with listeners.
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WNiCF - July 2025 - News
Send us a textIn this episode, Frank and SteveO cover the latest cloud updates that matter for FinOps practitioners:Compute & AI: AWS launches the P6e GB200 Ultra Servers, delivering record-breaking GPU performance for training and inference at trillion-parameter scale. Google announces FlexStart VMs to lower inference costs, while Azure rolls out free AWS-to-Azure Blob migration.Storage & Data: Google introduces editable backup plans, and AWS adds tagging support for S3 Express One Zone—a step toward using tags as operational levers, not just reporting tools.Visibility & Optimization: AWS Transform enhances EBS cost analysis and .NET modernization insights. GCP improves billing exports with spend-based CUD metadata in BigQuery and previews a Cost Explorer for better spend tracking.Pricing & Commitments: AWS Connect introduces per-day pricing for external voice connectors. Google expands flexible CUDs to cover Cloud Run services, with full migration to the new model coming in January 2026.Savings & Compliance: Azure Firewall adds ingestion-time log transformations to cut monitoring costs. AWS Audit Manager improves evidence collection, reducing compliance overhead and spend.AI-assisted Operations: AWS debuts MCP servers for S3 Tables, CloudWatch, and Application Signals—enabling AI-driven data access, troubleshooting, and observability. Plus, QuickSight doubles SPICE datasets to 2B rows.As always, we cut through the noise to focus on the FinOps impact—cost, commitments, compliance, and the growing role of AI in managing the cloud.
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WNiCF - June 2025 - News
Send us a textJoin us, Stephen Old and Frank Contrepois as we valiantly record the June 2025 news episode of “What’s New in Cloud FinOps"; this time, indoors and largely free of wildlife interruptions. In this news-packed update, we tackle the latest cloud cost and optimisation news from AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.Expect witty repartee as we dissect everything from Azure’s flexible memory to Google’s enhanced forecasting models, and even the curious case of the disappearing Microsoft Focus 1.2 schema. Along the way, you’ll learn about Athena’s improved query result management, Dataproc’s zero-scale clusters, and the existential dread of forgotten EBS snapshots.Whether you’re a FinOps expert, a cloud enthusiast, or simply enjoy hearing two experts try to outdo each other (and occasionally their own tech), this episode is your monthly dose of cloud cost clarity; with a side of British sarcasm. Tune in for news, numbers, and the occasional existential crisis.
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WNiCF - Interview with Rich Gibbons about SaaS, FinOps and ITAM
Send us a textIn this conversation, Frank Contrepois, Stephen Old, and Rich Gibbons explore the complexities of Software as a Service (SaaS) along with Financial Operations (FinOps) and IT Asset Management (ITAM). They talk about how software licensing has evolved and the challenges of managing SaaS consumption. Security and data management in a SaaS setting are also discussed. The conversation highlights the different views of ITAM and FinOps on SaaS. They consider how SaaS affects procurement models and the future of collaboration between these areas.
Stephen Old and Frank Contrepois get together to discuss what's new in the world of cloud when it comes to FinOps. There are two monthly episodes, one where we'll discuss the top stories we've found from this month and a second episode where we bring in a friend of the show to talk to us about a topic of their choosing.
South Africa