<![CDATA[FinOps after the low hanging fruits]]>https://riverside.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Mon, 13 Jul 2026 22:59:37 GMTMon, 13 Jul 2026 13:15:43 GMT60Frank ContrepoisWhat happens when all the low-hanging fruits are already in the basket? You have cleaned up the obvious waste. You have rightsized what could be rightsized. You have bought the discounts. You have built the dashboards. Everyone agrees that cloud cost matters. And then the real work begins. FinOps After the Low-Hanging Fruits is a video podcast about the harder side of FinOps: communication, diplomacy, negotiation, policy design, forecasting, organisational tension, and strategic thinking. The things that appear once the easy savings are gone. The official documentation can make it look simple. In practice, it rarely is. It is a bit like my son watching a few skateboarding videos and deciding he was good at it. The theory was clear. The confidence was high. Then came the concrete. FinOps is similar. Reading about forecasting, governance, capabilities, or collaboration is one thing. Making them work across finance, engineering, product, architecture, procurement, and leadership is something else entirely. This podcast is for FinOps practitioners who are past the basic cost-cutting phase and now need to make FinOps useful, credible, and strategic inside the business. We will talk about what happens after the first wins. When the dashboards are not enough. When the answer is no longer technical. And when FinOps has to become part of how the business makes decisions.episodicFrank Contrepoisfrank@coblan.itno<![CDATA[How many arguments should you bring to create a convincing case?]]>When trying to convince, the number of arguments depends on who you target.

]]>https://podcast.frankcontrepois.com/1b35b41dd-aaac-4c9c-b139-081a7b3bac30Mon, 01 Jun 2026 13:15:06 GMT<p>When trying to convince, the number of arguments depends on who you target.</p>no00:02:011How many arguments should you bring to create a convincing case?full<![CDATA[Interview - The research says that the real job of a FinOps practitioner isn’t FinOps]]>From Actor to FinOps Researcher: Insights from 21 Practitioners on the Human Side of FinOps

What makes a great FinOps practitioner?

In the first episode of FinOps After the Low-Hanging Fruits, Frank Contrepois talks to Olivier, a recent University of Manchester graduate. His research focused on the human side of FinOps, interviewing 21 practitioners from Europe, North America, and Asia.

Instead of diving into cloud tech or cost-saving methods, they discuss the people in FinOps. They explore how backgrounds shape decisions, why organisations adopt FinOps differently, and what newcomers can learn from experienced professionals.

Key topics include:

  • Why FinOps is a human and behavioural discipline, not just technical.
  • Insights from interviews with practitioners across various industries.
  • How backgrounds in engineering, finance, leadership, and consulting influence approaches to FinOps.
  • The emergence of a second generation of FinOps professionals.
  • The challenge of balancing frameworks with the unique ways organisations implement FinOps.
  • The role of practitioners as translators between engineering, finance, procurement, and leadership.
  • Why building connections between teams is often more important than deep technical expertise.
  • How organisations can shift from centralised FinOps teams to a true FinOps culture.
  • The significance of incentives, behaviours, and communication over tools and dashboards.
  • Mental models that help navigate complexity, including:
    • Context is everything
    • Flip the coin
    • FinOps as translation
    • FinOps as behaviour
  • Why top practitioners know when to listen and recognise when someone truly understands.

This episode examines what comes after obvious cloud savings. Success depends more on communication, culture, organisational design, and helping people make better choices.

If you've ever questioned whether FinOps is just about cloud costs or about changing organisational mindsets, you'll find this conversation enlightening.

Guest: Oliver Kennett Host: Frank Contrepois FinOps After the Low-Hanging Fruits is a podcast that delves into the tougher aspects of FinOps: governance, communication, leadership, organisational behaviour, forecasting, negotiation, and the strategic challenges that arise when easy savings are already achieved.


]]>https://podcast.frankcontrepois.com/78f575d8a-cde7-4071-9478-e1d4075184f5Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:07:00 GMT<p><strong>From Actor to FinOps Researcher: Insights from 21 Practitioners on the Human Side of FinOps</strong></p><p>What makes a great FinOps practitioner?</p><p>In the first episode of <em>FinOps After the Low-Hanging Fruits</em>, Frank Contrepois talks to Olivier, a recent University of Manchester graduate. His research focused on the human side of FinOps, interviewing <strong>21 practitioners from Europe, North America, and Asia</strong>.</p><p>Instead of diving into cloud tech or cost-saving methods, they discuss the people in FinOps. They explore how backgrounds shape decisions, why organisations adopt FinOps differently, and what newcomers can learn from experienced professionals.</p><p>Key topics include:</p><ul><li>Why FinOps is a <strong>human and behavioural discipline</strong>, not just technical.</li><li>Insights from interviews with practitioners across various industries.</li><li>How backgrounds in engineering, finance, leadership, and consulting influence approaches to FinOps.</li><li>The emergence of a second generation of FinOps professionals.</li><li>The challenge of balancing frameworks with the unique ways organisations implement FinOps.</li><li>The role of practitioners as <strong>translators</strong> between engineering, finance, procurement, and leadership.</li><li>Why building connections between teams is often more important than deep technical expertise.</li><li>How organisations can shift from centralised FinOps teams to a true FinOps culture.</li><li>The significance of incentives, behaviours, and communication over tools and dashboards.</li><li>Mental models that help navigate complexity, including:<ul><li><em>Context is everything</em></li><li><em>Flip the coin</em></li><li><em>FinOps as translation</em></li><li><em>FinOps as behaviour</em></li></ul></li><li>Why top practitioners know when to listen and recognise when someone truly understands.</li></ul><p>This episode examines what comes after obvious cloud savings. Success depends more on communication, culture, organisational design, and helping people make better choices.</p><p>If you've ever questioned whether FinOps is just about cloud costs or about changing organisational mindsets, you'll find this conversation enlightening.</p><p><strong>Guest:</strong> Oliver Kennett <strong>Host:</strong> Frank Contrepois <em>FinOps After the Low-Hanging Fruits</em> is a podcast that delves into the tougher aspects of FinOps: governance, communication, leadership, organisational behaviour, forecasting, negotiation, and the strategic challenges that arise when easy savings are already achieved.</p><p><br /></p>no00:47:187Interview - The research says that the real job of a FinOps practitioner isn’t FinOpsfull<![CDATA[The immediate impact of AI on C-suite and board jobs]]>AI is already impacting the board and C-suite positions.

Click here to view the episode transcript.

]]>https://podcast.frankcontrepois.com/3de5403ab-ae63-4a57-acdb-9c32409cf2f5Tue, 16 Jun 2026 13:22:27 GMT<p>AI is already impacting the board and C-suite positions.</p><p><a href="https://share.transistor.fm/s/c847e698/transcript" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Click here to view the episode transcript.</a><br /> </p>no00:01:053The immediate impact of AI on C-suite and board jobsfull<![CDATA[Short - The impact of AI on organisations]]>Who is happy about AI and who is unhappy about AI. Why?

]]>https://podcast.frankcontrepois.com/4ebb1f38d-7e2a-4e3e-a3d1-6b842206c017Wed, 01 Jul 2026 12:22:41 GMT<p>Who is happy about AI and who is unhappy about AI. Why?</p>no00:02:084Short - The impact of AI on organisationsfull<![CDATA[Short - The secret of those who always act right]]>A useful trick for #finops practitioners wanting to boost their authority


We've all had times when we wished we could act differently. Sometimes, these are habits that keep coming back and can be really annoying.


There’s a simple trick to help you stop these bad behaviors for good. The good news? It’s easy to follow.

]]>https://podcast.frankcontrepois.com/56b6bc26c-9b52-4f7d-ad45-bb5cb8f075a9Fri, 03 Jul 2026 10:07:05 GMT<p>A useful trick for <strong>#finops</strong> practitioners wanting to boost their authority</p><p><br /></p><p>We've all had times when we wished we could act differently. Sometimes, these are habits that keep coming back and can be really annoying.</p><p><br /></p><p>There’s a simple trick to help you stop these bad behaviors for good. The good news? It’s easy to follow.</p>no00:03:285Short - The secret of those who always act rightfull<![CDATA[Understanding 'the board' - teaser]]>Teaser for a new series of episodes.

]]>https://podcast.frankcontrepois.com/episodes/understanding-the-board-teaser90dc5f9c-f2cf-4a64-aa56-fbc4e5bcde51Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:31:29 GMT<p>Teaser for a new series of episodes.</p>no00:01:18Understanding 'the board' - teasertrailer<![CDATA[Short - FinOps and vibecoding - how to make it work]]>Vibe Coding is upon us, and we need to build some governance to avoid creating thousands of duplicates. 

]]>https://podcast.frankcontrepois.com/6b43f1129-ad44-4aec-9c47-9a1fefd13ec4Mon, 06 Jul 2026 08:58:43 GMT<p>Vibe Coding is upon us, and we need to build some governance to avoid creating thousands of duplicates. </p>no00:01:516Short - FinOps and vibecoding - how to make it workfull<![CDATA[Do you know how power works and what a board does?]]>When the easy FinOps savings are gone, the next challenge is not another dashboard. It is understanding how decisions really happen.


In this first episode of the series, Frank starts at the very top of the company: the owners, the board, and the auditor. Before we talk about cloud strategy, budgets, engineering, or FinOps policies, we need to understand where power sits and how it flows.


This episode gives practitioners a simple map of corporate power: shareholders delegate authority to the board, the board governs management, and auditors provide independent confidence that the company’s story matches reality.


For FinOps practitioners trying to move beyond rightsizing, reports, and low-hanging fruit, this is the starting point. Advanced FinOps is not only about finding waste. It is about helping organisations make better decisions about technology, money, risk, and value.

Click here to view the episode transcript.

]]>https://podcast.frankcontrepois.com/263138ae4-581a-4be1-a1ea-54327990b40fWed, 03 Jun 2026 14:27:13 GMT<p>When the easy FinOps savings are gone, the next challenge is not another dashboard. It is understanding how decisions really happen.</p><p><br /></p><p>In this first episode of the series, Frank starts at the very top of the company: the owners, the board, and the auditor. Before we talk about cloud strategy, budgets, engineering, or FinOps policies, we need to understand where power sits and how it flows.</p><p><br /></p><p>This episode gives practitioners a simple map of corporate power: shareholders delegate authority to the board, the board governs management, and auditors provide independent confidence that the company’s story matches reality.</p><p><br /></p><p>For FinOps practitioners trying to move beyond rightsizing, reports, and low-hanging fruit, this is the starting point. Advanced FinOps is not only about finding waste. It is about helping organisations make better decisions about technology, money, risk, and value.</p><p><a href="https://share.transistor.fm/s/c3ab14ee/transcript" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Click here to view the episode transcript.</a><br /> </p>no00:11:592Do you know how power works and what a board does?full