Who this is for

  • Founders and CFOs needing defensible cloud spend forecasts before funding rounds.
  • PE operators integrating acquisitions with overlapping platforms and vendors.
  • Product and platform leaders tasked with margin improvements without slowing delivery.
  • Boards requiring FinOps evidence to sign off on growth or efficiency plans.

Typical triggers

  • Quarterly cloud bills exceed forecast by double digits without explanation.
  • Gross margin targets slip because shared infrastructure lacks cost allocation.
  • Migration or re-platform programs need economics to justify investment.
  • Investors request FinOps proof points during diligence or board reviews.
  • Finance and engineering disagree on savings potential or prioritisation.

Scope

  • Product & architecture: workload inventory, tenancy model, demand drivers.
  • Security & IS: compliance impacts of rightsizing, data residency, and retention policies.
  • Delivery & reliability: performance guardrails, change failure risks, automation levers.
  • Team & process: FinOps governance, KPI design, and accountability matrix.
  • Cost & scale: spend baselines, savings scenarios, reserved/spot strategy, vendor terms.
  • Finance integration: GL mapping, forecasting cadence, and board reporting hooks.

Artifacts you get

  • Bill-of-Cloud model with unit economics tied to revenue, margin, and runway.
  • 90-day FinOps execution plan with quantified savings, owners, and checkpoints.
  • Cost-to-serve dashboards and tagging standards ready for BI or finance tooling.
  • Vendor negotiation dossier with commitments, renewal timing, and concession targets.
  • Playbook for engineering rituals (standups, PR reviews) embedding cost awareness.

Timeline & cadence

Week 0 intake aligns finance and engineering sponsors. Weeks 1-2 cover data gathering, tagging audit, and workload interviews. Week 3 presents baseline economics and quick wins. Weeks 4-5 lock the 90-day plan, governance cadence, and vendor strategy. Optional Weeks 6-8 provide execution coaching, dashboard deployment, and board reporting support.

Inputs we need

  • Last 12 months of cloud billing exports (preferably CUR/BigQuery or Cost Explorer data).
  • Tagging/taxonomy standards and known gaps.
  • Environment topology, deployment frequency, and major architectural initiatives.
  • Headcount plan, vendor contracts, and existing FinOps or finance dashboards.
  • KPIs or margin targets the board or investors track.

Pricing anchors

Fixed-fee engagements. We size the investment once we review data availability, migration goals, and coaching needs, then issue a proposal inside one business day.

CTA

Replace guesswork with economics the board can act on. We translate cloud spend into growth levers, savings options, and accountable owners.

Book an assessment

Related services & resources

Need upstream risk context? Pair this with the Tech Sanity Check. Diligence buyers want the same models in Technical Due Diligence. Execution muscle required? Engage the Fractional CTO team. For ongoing benchmarks, explore FinOps research on Signals.