In a FinOps Galaxy not-so-far-away… | Cloud Core.
In this Cloud Core issue, we take you on a journey through the FinOps Galaxy, which is complex and confusing, even for experienced travelers. It’s a hazardous trip, so we equip you with our FinOps Galaxy Field Guide (towel optional). It helps you pinpoint the hazards affecting your cloud/AI estate and identify where spend, architecture and accountability have drifted out of alignment – so you can chart a safe course to clarity, predictability and value.
Are you caught out at the AI Cost Waterfall, drowning in overspend from POCs? Lost in the Zombie Belt of idle, orphaned and legacy resources? Or sucked into the Bureaucracy Black Hole?
Get your Field Guide and find out how to dodge the cost hazards, clear the bureaucratic fog and escape toil.
What cloud billing tells you about security, risk and operations
Billing data is brutally honest: it reflects what’s running, where it’s running, and how it’s being used. Which means it’s a powerful diagnostic tool.
When you follow the money, patterns start to emerge. Like those forgotten workloads, technical debt accumulating for years, security blind spots, even sovereignty issues. Looking at cloud billing through this lens helps you see not only where you can cut costs, but also how you can strengthen security, governance and operational maturity.
FinOps in 2026: Focus on savings, and you’re behind
What’s different about FinOps this year? FinOps advisor Gabriele Russo explains in this article – including why it’s not just about bill size and how AI has broken the old FinOps mentality.
Get more up-to-date best practices, check out our latest Cloud Core Talks episodes.
📢 Cloud quote of the month.
“This transformation was about more than optimising cloud spend, it was about reshaping how we operate. With IBM and Nordcloud’s support, we embedded FinOps into our culture, introduced new governance models and built the internal capabilities to drive smarter, faster decisions across the organisation.” – Social Security Scotland
📰 What we’ve been talking about this month
How FinOps helps avoid failed AI implementations
A public sector perspective on cloud costs, accountability and FinOps
Why the Nordics are lagging on FinOps and what to do about it
How a global manufacturer is doing FinOps
🗓️ Some dates for your diary
- 19 May – AWS Game Day, Netherlands – More details
- 19 May – Microsoft Fabric Roadshow, Netherlands – More details
- 20 May – AWS Summit Hamburg, Germany – More details
- 25-27 May - Sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon ATK-päivät 2026, Finland – More details
- 27 May – AWS Summit Amsterdam, Netherlands – More details
- 3 June – Microsoft Migrate & Modernize MicroHacks, Sweden – More details
- 3 June – Digital Sovereignty Summer Soiree, Sweden – More details
- 10 June – Digital Sovereignty Breakfast Panel, Netherlands - More details
🎧 Something to listen to in the home office
Tune into some relaxing galaxy music, ideal when you finally land in The Good Place – where clarity, predictability and value reign supreme.
