Aviatrix Blog 
No one can afford to ignore the cost of cloud networking. From cloud storage costs that rack up by the minute to security that prevents expensive cyberattacks like the recent Salt Typhoon hack, your network is a significant line in your company’s budget.
When you choose to invest in a cloud service provider (CSP), software platform, or third-party solution, overall cost is just as important as security, performance, resiliency, and other key metrics.
To avoid being locked in with software vendors who charge crippling costs without offering sufficient security, efficiency, or other benefits, every organization’s FinOps team needs a seat at the table for every cloud computing software purchasing decision. FinOps professionals can help maximize ROI (Return on Investment) in software solutions to save hard dollar costs in the long run and maximize business value.
In DevOps, “shift left” is “the practice of moving testing, quality, and performance evaluation early in the development process, often before any code is written.” This allows for earlier problem detection and easier resolution, leading to faster delivery, improved product quality, and potentially even reduced development costs. When organizations expand the shift left mentality beyond DevOps (software development) and into FinOps (software acquisition) they can drive similar benefits.
As a proud member of the FinOps Foundation, Aviatrix engages with the global FinOps community, sharing insights and best practices for managing cloud costs effectively Here are three ways involving FinOps in cloud computing software purchase decisions can lead to long-term gains:
Good Software Decisions Increase Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Savings
“Good” software purchases are investments that strengthen your network’s security, improve performance, ensure resiliency in case of an outage, maximize efficiency, or provide concrete value in some other area. A good software investment will pay for itself over the long term, reducing your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) with features like auto-scaling or adjusting resources based on demand, identifying unnecessary data processing charges, minimizing risk of business disruption, and more.
Good Software Decisions Increase Process Efficiency Gains
Good software purchases give you process efficiency gains through standardization and automation, which enable your business to grow. For instance, as cloud footprints continue expanding, a solution that enables abstraction can translate into future hiring avoidance, which can contribute to significant cost savings.
In the FinOps Foundation Framework, which helps organizations maximize the business value of cloud, “Teams work together to continuously improve for efficiency and innovation.”
Software that encourages collaboration and coordination can increase efficiency because they eliminate silos that isolate teams, disrupt accountability, or duplicate work.
According to McKinsey, top-performing organizations drive scale by eliminating operating-model silos and moving to “product or platform-centric operating models” that “create a range of business benefits such as reducing time to market, reducing the costs of tech solutions, and enforcing greater accountability on the part of both business and tech.”
No one wants to find out that tedious manual processes, human error, and unnecessary silos have cost funds that could have gone into business growth. The right software solution can eliminate these efficiencies.
Good Software Decisions Deliver Better Business Outcomes
While TCO and process efficiency gains are important parts of ROI, an organization ultimately invests to solve existing challenges to enable better business outcomes such as a faster time-to-market or operating risk reduction.
A successful software investment can help you in the following areas:
- Protect your organization from the crippling cost of cyberattacks — Strong network security pays for itself in cost avoidance because cyberattacks come with massive costs.
- Save money, time, and sanity during complex Mergers and Acquisitions — Investing in software that provides a holistic, simplified, and repeatable architecture transforms an M&A nightmare into a streamlined and efficient process, increasing time-to-synergy and saving your organization money, time, and sanity.
- Optimize cost allocations in network management — Good software investments offer clarity and accountability for complex cost allocations. For example, using strategies like metadata and tagging, you can harness a software solution to make sure teams and organizations pay for what they use.
Conclusion
Understanding the holistic value that technology investments bring to an organization beyond short-term cost savings is key in maximizing business value. By leveraging this perspective with a shift left approach, FinOps practitioners can build upon the FinOps Foundation’s existing framework and make informed decisions that not only optimize costs but drive significant business growth, operational efficiency, and overall business performance.
Curious about how a good software investment can add value?
- See our TCO calculator to estimate your savings with our solution vs. the traditional cloud service providers.
- Learn more at our webinar on January 22, “Unlocking Cloud Value: Strategies for Shifting Left and Maximizing ROI with FinOps.”