The FinOps Foundation, part of the Linux Foundation (News - Alert), introduced the FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS) Version 1.0. This new standard aims to simplify cloud billing by creating a uniform format across different cloud providers, making it easier for businesses to understand and manage their cloud costs.

Developed with input from major cloud providers like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (News - Alert) (AWS), and Oracle Cloud, it aims to reduce the complexity of cloud bills.

"Google has more than 20 years of consuming, creating, and contributing to open source projects, it is a key part of our DNA. The FOCUS open billing data project naturally extends our commitment towards being the most open cloud provider. We want our customers to easily understand their cloud costs so that they spend more time innovating and creating business value — and we believe with FOCUS we are taking steps towards this reality," said Pravir Gupta, Vice President of Google (News - Alert) Cloud.

Cloud billing can be complex, with each provider using different formats and terminologies. FOCUS addresses this by creating a common language and structure for billing data. This makes it easier for FinOps practitioners — those responsible for managing cloud finances — to analyze and optimize costs across multiple cloud platforms. The project already has contributors and steering committee members working on the 1.1 release, with plans for the 1.2 release.

"We are excited to be part of an effort to make it easier for customers to use cloud financial data to get a better understanding of their AWS investments. Contributing to the FOCUS specification is an important part of our broader efforts to improve our cloud financial management offerings and help customers get the most out of their AWS investments," said James Greenfield, Vice President, Commerce Platform at AWS.

FOCUS Version 1.0 is also designed to be extensible to other cloud software-as-a-service (SaaS (News - Alert)) billing datasets, including those for networking, observability, and security tools. Future updates will add further support for SaaS providers and on-premises datasets.

The FinOps Foundation has also developed a library of over forty common use cases for FOCUS. Each use case includes an SQL query that uses FOCUS data to answer important business questions. This helps practitioners quickly extract valuable insights from their billing data, allowing them to focus on more strategic tasks.

"The general availability of the FOCUS 1.0 specification represents not only a pivotal step in IT cost management but also a huge step forward in supporting multicloud strategies in billing disintermediation from any specific vendor environment. This is a big deal. All organizations of any size and at any point in their cloud journey and across all industries will benefit immensely. FOCUS 1.0 is the first step in a long journey towards the abstractable, composable cloud. It removes the burden of the multi-skill set knowledge required to manage costs across all of the tools and clouds organizations use to manage and support their IT environment. In doing so, organizations can more easily optimize their cloud investments and drive sustainable financial growth," said Tracy Woo, Forrester (News - Alert) Principal Analyst.