FinOps starts with building the right cloud architecture

FinOps is not just about optimizing a cloud environment after the fact: it’s a mindset that should be embedded while cloud strategy is defined and application architecture is designed.

This should not be a hot take. Actually, architecting for the cloud is one of the key principles described in the framework of the FinOps foundation. It is presented as the process of “designing and modernizing solutions with cost-awareness and efficiency to maximize business value while achieving performance, scalability, and operational objectives”.

And yet, for many, FinOps is seen as a retrospective practice, monitoring the performance of a cloud environment already in place, and making adjustments to ensure optimal usage while keeping costs under control.

This includes, for instance, identifying underutilized resources that could benefit from right-sizing. Another example would be to spot inaccurate choices of cloud pricing models: for instance, a cloud deployment using on-demand pricing while the related workloads have stable and predictable computing needs.

If all of this is implemented in an organization, this is already great. Cloud costs are inherently complex to manage, and regular cost optimization efforts are a necessary practice.

The goal of this post is to remind that, in order to unlock its full potential, an effective FinOps practice:

• Should be integrated with a broader IT cost management strategy, including expenses from on-premise infrastructure.

• Should guide cloud architecture decisions for the cloud team, both before and during application transformation.

No budget silos: align FinOps with general IT cost management

Cloud cost optimization with FinOps

Most organizations operate in a hybrid cloud environment. While FinOps focuses on managing cloud costs, achieving a comprehensive cost strategy also requires a clear view of expenses generated by on-premise infrastructure. When businesses treat these two aspects in silos, they miss out on a holistic IT cost optimization approach.

Moreover, on-prem is not a dead end. By taking inventory of your existing on-prem infrastructure, you may uncover business-critical applications that, with a few updates, could drive cost savings. You might also identify applications that would benefit from a modernization work in the cloud, transforming "old" systems into additional value drivers for your organization.

Build a cost-conscious cloud architecture first

FinOps starts with building the right cloud architecture

By identifying right-sizing opportunities, or eliminating unused resources, you will already cut unnecessary expenses. But if you are optimizing an application that was wrongly architected in the first place, you will not address the real problems.

That’s why FinOps best practices should come into play not just after deployment, but especially during the design phase of your applications and their architecture - aligning technical choices with what the business truly needs to achieve.

For cloud teams, factoring cost into their decisions and documenting their choices is certainly beneficial. If cost reductions are later requested, they can start by demonstrating that cost-effectiveness was considered from the start when building an application. It also allows them to highlight other factors at play. For example: “We chose this solution, as it was essential to ensure better scalability, which was critical for the application’s success”.

So, where to start?

For many companies, the challenge is that a significant number of applications have already been deployed, often during an initial wave of migration that relied heavily on lift-and-shift without truly redesigning applications to leverage the full benefits of the cloud.

Reworking existing solutions is never the easiest part, especially when deep changes are required. So, if you want to build an effective cloud modernization roadmap and get the highest value from your cloud, here are a few recommendations:

• Prioritize. Start to identify applications that are critical to the business, and where modernization can lead to significant benefits, not only better cost-effectiveness, but also greater scalability, faster innovation… Depending on the role of each application in your organization.

• Document cost-effectiveness as part of your best practices. Many stakeholders in an organization are involved in the definition of cloud solutions. Make sure to implement and share best practices on how to build applications while adding the cost factor at every step.

• Make modernization continuous. Modernization does not have to be a “big bang” initiative that happens once every ten years. As new technologies like GenAI regularly change the game, and as new business challenges can arise (for instance: new regulations), priorities can evolve. Regular assessments of your applications, their potential, and their transformation readiness, is key to efficiently modernize in the cloud.

Thanks for reading! At Txture, we’ve developed a SaaS platform designed to help cloud teams modernize and optimize applications at scale while staying aligned with business objectives.

Building an effective cloud modernization roadmap is much faster with Txture. The platform identifies high-priority applications for modernization across your IT estate, recommends target architectures tailored to your goals, and provides FinOps insights at every step, helping you to build strong business cases for modernization and make informed, cost-conscious cloud decisions.

Ready to regain momentum in your cloud journey and maximize the value of your applications?

Not enough input yet? Take a look at Txture's FinOps Playbook 2025, your step-by-step guide from cloud cost optimization, from immediate savings to strategic application modernization.

Download our "FinOps Playbook here"