There are almost as many reasons for learning FinOps practices as there are resources available to learn from.
Maybe you operate a SaaS company, for example, or you’re looking for a job in FinOps. The FinOps field grows in importance every time cloud services and their associated costs become more complex — which can feel like every single day.
Regardless of your situation, you’ll need high-quality FinOps resources that offer up-to-date materials and in-depth information. Simply searching online is likely to turn up introductory level, shallow tutorials that will acquaint you with the basic terminology and principles, but not much else.
We’ve compiled the list below so you can skip the time-wasters and dive right into the resources that will truly help you deepen your FinOps knowledge.
1. The FinOps Foundation
Not only does the FinOps Foundation have a wealth of articles (just start on their intro page and use the extensive list of navigation links) dedicated to helping FinOps practitioners hone their skills and learn new best practices, they also offer training and certification.
2. Cloud FinOps: Collaborative, Real-Time Cloud Financial Management
FinOps practitioners say this is the best of all the cloud FinOps books money can buy. In it, you’ll find out how to get started with FinOps for your business or perfect your approach if it’s already under way. One reader said, “I’ve highlighted so much of the book that my highlights have become meaningless.”
3. The CloudZero Blog
If you’re looking for in-depth information on specific topics related to FinOps, cost optimization, and cloud costs, the CloudZero blog should be on your list.
Blog topics shed light on how to do everything from how to hire your first FinOps specialist to how to encourage finance and engineering to work together toward shared goals, and even how to evaluate FinOps KPIs to improve your margins.
Additional FinOps resources from the CloudZero blog:
4. FinOpsPod
The FinOps Pod is another excellent way to dive deeply into FinOps topics and escape the broad-strokes tutorials you’ll find in most other places. Better yet, these topics are offered in generous but still manageable episodes of around 30 to 45 minutes each.
Some examples of past episodes are “FinOops — Lessons Learned The Hard Way” and “FinOps Careers: Beginning the FinOps journey. Episodes go live roughly once a month, so be sure to check back regularly for new topics that may catch your interest.
5. FinOps Certification Practice Exams
While the FinOps Foundation should be your primary source for training and certification, you may want some extra time to brush up on your skills before you shell out hundreds of dollars for the official courses and final exam.
If so, consider using Udemy to find certification crash courses and practice exams. These courses are inexpensive and often allow instructors and other students to communicate, meaning you can ask your burning questions and go into the official FinOps.org courses with more confidence.
6. The FinOps Foundation Slack Channel
Still have questions? After joining the FinOps Foundation, you can chat with the community and receive advice from experts who help newcomers on the platform.
You can join as an individual practitioner or an enterprise depending on your company, your situation, and your goals. Other tiers exist for consultants and vendors to join the conversation, so you’ll be able to speak with sales teams and service providers as well as peers.
7. Additional Resources
There’s no shortage of FinOps blogs, webinars, podcasts, videos, articles, and books.
The FinOps Foundation offers a lengthy list of resources you can use to find helpful information on your topic of choice. Using their curated list is a good way to avoid wasting time on other resources that won’t answer your questions or, worse, could give you incorrect or out-of-date information.
The Cloud Cost Playbook
The step-by-step guide to cost maturity
