How Finance and Engineering Can Unite for AWS Cost Optimization in 2025

In this episode of the "Keys to AWS Optimization" show, host Steph Gooch (Senior Optimization Solutions Architect Advocate) and guests Haritha Chitalia (FinOps Commercial Architect) and Dawn Mersich (Senior FinOps Success Manager) discuss the importance of collaboration between finance and engineering teams to drive effective cost optimization in the cloud. As experts in their respective domains, they provide valuable insights into the responsibilities, priorities, and perspectives of both functions.

1. Finance's role in cloud cost management: Finance teams are responsible for financial reporting, planning, budgeting, cost monitoring, and control. They aim to provide financial visibility, ensure data integrity, and establish guardrails to manage cloud spend.

2. Engineering's responsibilities in cost optimization: Engineers are focused on architecting, building, and maintaining highly reliable and secure applications. They must balance factors like performance, disaster recovery, and cost when designing cloud solutions.

3. Communication and relationship-building: Fostering open communication and developing a shared understanding between finance and engineering teams is crucial for aligning goals, bridging the knowledge gap, and driving collaborative cost optimization efforts.

4. Leveraging cloud cost visibility tools: Tools like AWS Cost Explorer, AWS CloudTrail, and AWS CloudWatch can provide finance and engineering teams with the necessary data and insights to monitor, analyze, and optimize cloud spend.

5. Importance of proactive engagement: Finance and engineering should proactively engage with each other, seek input, and align on key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure a shared language and collaborative approach to cloud cost management.

- "Having that initial insight and opening that line of communication, ahead of time or in a more proactive manner between the two stakeholders can really help us avoid any type of big surprises in the future." - Haritha Chitalia

- "I think it's important to seek input from your engineering teams when you're putting together your financial reporting, your templates, your structure, since you're likely going to need their participation again and adding that color around the numbers." - Dawn Mersich

If you're interested in learning more about optimizing your AWS costs, be sure to check out the on-demand live stream of this episode on the AWS Twitch channel. Additionally, you can explore the AWS FinOps and Cost Optimization resources to deepen your understanding and find practical solutions for your cloud cost management initiatives.