ABOUT THIS FINOPS CERTIFICATION

The FinOps Certified Practitioner (FOCP) certification allows individuals working in a variety of cloud, financial, and technology roles to show their FinOps competence and gain professional credibility. The certification is aimed for senior executives who wish to get a basic understanding of financial operations and how they may be utilized to get the most out of cloud expenditure. Organizations who are pursuing a public cloud-first strategy or have already migrated to the public cloud will reap substantial benefits.

A FinOps Certified Practitioner will have a thorough understanding of FinOps, its Principles, and Capabilities, as well as how to support and manage the FinOps Lifecycle in order to control your company’s cloud expenses and use.

You can also choose a self-paced Certification Workshop + FOCP Certification Exam Bundle

If you don’t need preparation training you can take the certification exam only

LAB INFO

Access to a Linux server or Linux desktop/laptop is necessary to complete the lab exercises in this course. You’ll also need access to a public cloud service or VirtualBox installed on your desktop. The course includes detailed guidance for setting up your lab space.

You should be able to complete the lab activities using the free tier or credits offered by a cloud service such as GCP or AWS. However, you can be charged if you use more credits than the cloud provider originally assigned to you, or if the cloud provider’s terms and conditions change.  

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

The certification covers financial operations as well as a high-level review of key concepts in each of the three stages of the financial operations lifecycle: inform, optimise, and operate.

PREREQUISITES

• Understand the basics of cloud computing, as well as the major services provided by your cloud providers, as well as the most common use cases and billing and pricing methods.
• Understand the basic concept of a pay-as-you-go consumption model and be able to articulate the core value proposition of cloud computing.
• Know one of the three main public cloud providers from the ground up (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).

THE LINUX FOUNDATION CERTIFICATION VERIFICATION TOOL

Individuals who achieve Linux certification represent the best talent available and have the skills required to perform challenging real-world tasks under time constraints. This verification tool allows you to confirm the validity of the certification. Credentials can also be verified by potential employers to confirm competencies gained.  

JOB OVERVIEW

According to ZipRecruiter the average FinOps salary for certified professionals in the U.S. is $116,589 per year.

Not enough knowledge about FinOps? Enroll in the Introduction to FinOps (LFS175x) training course for free.

The significance of FinOps Certification

IT experts estimate that moving to the cloud saves them an average of 20%. However, not all migrations will result in cost reductions. As a result of careful financial planning and control, the most successful organizations are enjoying the rewards.

If your organization doesn’t have a solid FinOps operation, it may be paying for unnecessary stuff, technologies that no one uses, and licenses that have been abandoned. The cloud’s natural cost reductions may not be enough to keep you from overspending if you don’t keep an eye on it. With FinOps, you can ensure that your teams are receiving the most bang for their buck by continuously optimizing your cloud expenditures.

FinOps best practices – how to use FinOps Certification in practice

Before moving to the cloud, make sure you have a plan in place for FinOps.

The ideal time to think about FinOps is before you relocate, as with any strategic planning. As a result, you’ll be better prepared to take advantage of current possibilities like free trials and bulk user pricing while also planning for future cost minimization in areas like scalability and shadow IT

Additionally, it enables teams to comprehend the difference between on-premises and cloud-based financial planning.

For example, IT teams typically acquire more seats/licenses than the company really needs since they have to plan for growth, and adding licenses afterward may be a cumbersome process with on-premises.

When you first start using the cloud, you may buy just the licenses you need, and then you can add or remove them as your needs change. In many cases, you may even automate the renewal or expiry of licenses in accordance with your company (letting temporary contractor licenses expire at the end of their contracts, for example). In this case (and many others), on-premises vs. cloud-based cost management is extremely different.

In order to save money, don’t compromise on quality

Most people think about cost optimization in terms of reducing expenses. The point isn’t actually about that. It’s all about getting the most out of your money. FinOps, therefore, isn’t just about identifying the lowest-cost solutions; it’s about weighing the benefits of those savings against the costs they entail.

When it comes to saving money, FinOps analysts may propose taking advantage of a three-month free trial. In other cases, they may encourage upgrading to a subscription plan as soon as possible so that you can take benefit of all the extra features, support, and integrations.

An instant upgrade may be more cost-effective for one organization than waiting for the free trial to expire. However, the polar opposite may be true for a different organization altogether.

Decide on a budget and stick to it

If the goal of FinOps is to hold people accountable for their financial decisions, then knowing exactly how much money you’re spending is an important first step.

Even in big firms, where fragmented teams may not be sharing their expenditures at a detailed level, this can be more difficult than it seems. It takes time to calculate TCO and ROI, which is why it should be accounted for in your deadlines and budgets.

In addition to calculating actual TCO and ROI, FinOps practitioners are also responsible for estimating future expenses and conducting frequent audits.

Build FinOps into your company’s culture as a regular occurrence

FinOps is sometimes misunderstood as a one-time strategic activity that must be addressed by the whole team before migration. Companies that succeed, on the other hand, don’t just stop at planning. In the long run, they keep expenditures under control by clearly defining roles and duties.

Making ensuring the FinOps team is a part of any key software decision-making processes is a common part of this.

Determine who is responsible for what

Who is in charge of your company’s financial operations (FinOps)? Will you be working with a full-time employee? Possibly someone who is already a member of your finance or cloud teams? Exactly what are they supposed to do? And who else on your staff will be in charge of making sure they have all they need?

The newly freed-up IT professionals are an excellent place to begin when thinking about who will keep up with your Cloud FinOps procedures when you migrate to the cloud. While on-prem software may need you to repair issues and workarounds, administrators have more time to think strategically about cloud investment, monitor the tools teams are using throughout your business, and ensure that you’re getting the most out of your IT expenditure.

Anything in a company that isn’t owned by someone is certain to fail quickly. Getting the most out of your budget is critical, so make sure everyone knows who is in charge of it.

Join FinOps Certification and FOCP Exam Bundle