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What Are FinOps Certifications?
FinOps, short for Financial Operations, is an emerging practice that focuses on the management of cloud computing costs. It is a combination of principles, practices, and tools aimed at optimizing spending and maximizing the value of cloud services.
FinOps certifications are professional credentials that demonstrate an individual’s expertise in the practice of FinOps. These certifications validate an individual’s knowledge and skills in areas such as cloud economics, cost optimization, and cloud financial management. Many of the respected FinOps certifications available today are offered by the FinOps Foundation.
Learn more in our detailed guide to cloud financial management.
The FinOps Foundation is a non-profit organization that aims to advance the practice of FinOps by providing education, training, and certification programs. It also hosts events and conferences that bring together FinOps practitioners from around the world to share knowledge and best practices.
In this article, you will learn:
Why Are FinOps Certifications Important?
FinOps Certifications are important for several reasons, including:
- Recognition of expertise: FinOps certifications demonstrate that an individual has a strong understanding of FinOps principles and is able to apply them effectively. Certification provides recognition of expertise, which can be valuable for career advancement.
- Enhanced job performance: FinOps certifications provide individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to optimize cloud spending and achieve better financial outcomes. This can lead to enhanced job performance and improved results for the organization.
- Industry recognition: FinOps certifications are recognized within the industry as a mark of excellence in cloud financial management. Certification provides validation of skills and knowledge, which can be valuable when seeking new job opportunities.
- Professional development: FinOps certifications provide individuals with an opportunity for professional development and career advancement. Certification programs often include training and networking opportunities, which can help individuals expand their skills and knowledge.
- Adoption of best practices: FinOps certifications promote the adoption of best practices in cloud financial management. Certification programs are designed to ensure that individuals have a thorough understanding of FinOps principles and best practices, which can help organizations optimize cloud spending and achieve better financial outcomes.
FinOps Foundation Certifications and Training Programs
Here are the certifications offered by the FinOps Foundation.
1. FinOps Certified Practitioner
A FinOps Certified Practitioner (FOCP) is a professional who has demonstrated a fundamental understanding of FinOps principles and practices. FOCPs have completed a certification program that validates their knowledge and skills in areas such as cloud economics, cost optimization, and cloud financial management.
The FOCP certification is intended for professionals who are involved in cloud cost management, including financial analysts, cloud architects, cloud engineers, and business leaders. The certification program is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of FinOps, including its principles, best practices, and tools.
The recommended prior knowledge for the FOCP certification program includes a basic understanding of cloud computing and familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP. However, there are no specific prerequisites for the certification.
Related content: Read our guide to aws finops and guide to azure finops.
The FOCP certification program consists of self-paced online training modules that cover topics such as:
- Cloud cost management
- Cloud financial operations
- Cloud governance.
The program includes 12 modules, each containing multiple lessons, quizzes, and hands-on exercises. The program takes approximately 16 hours to complete.
The price for the FOCP certification program is $599 for the online program, $1500 for the on-site program, and $300 for the exam. To qualify for the certification, candidates must complete the online training modules, pass a multiple-choice exam (at least 75%), and agree to the FinOps Foundation’s code of conduct. The certification is then valid for two years.
2. FinOps Certified Platform Engineer
A FinOps Certified Platform Engineer (FOCPE) is a professional who has demonstrated proficiency in implementing FinOps practices using cloud platforms. FOCPEs have completed a certification program that validates their knowledge and skills in areas such as cloud cost optimization, automation, and governance.
The FinOps for Engineers course is a self-paced online training program that provides technical professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to implement FinOps practices on cloud platforms. The course covers topics such as cloud cost management, automation, and governance, and provides hands-on exercises and real-world examples.
The price for the FinOps for Engineers course is $299, and it includes access to video lectures, a year-long access to course material, key takeaways and speaker notes, and one-week access to Cloud FinOps, a cloud cost management platform.
3. FinOps Certified Professional
FinOps Certified Professional is an advanced certification program designed for professionals who want to become experts in the practice of FinOps. The certification program includes hands-on exercises, case studies, and real-world examples.
The cost of this certification program is $3750, and it takes approximately 40 to 50 hours to complete. Prerequisites include a minimum of six months experience in FinOps and a FOCP certificate.
To qualify for the certification, candidates must complete the online training program, pass a 100-question multiple-choice exam, and achieve a score of 75% or higher. It is designed to provide professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to become leaders in cloud cost management and optimization.
4. FinOps for Containers
The FinOps for Containers course provides professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to optimize costs and manage budgets for containerized environments. The course covers topics such as container use cases, container orchestration concepts, waste reduction, and integration of container usage and cost data with FinOps budgeting plans.
The course is intended for professionals who are involved in the management of containerized environments, including DevOps engineers, cloud architects, and containerization specialists. The course is also suitable for professionals who are interested in learning more about the intersection of FinOps and containerization.
The cost of the FinOps for Containers course is $350, and it includes access to online video lectures, hands-on exercises, and real-world examples. The course is designed to help professionals understand how to identify and reduce waste in containerized environments, optimize costs, and adapt container management into a FinOps strategy.
Upon completion of the course, professionals will acquire the skills to describe containers and use cases, identify and reduce waste in containerized environments, optimize costs, and provide detailed examples of correct and incorrect cost management practices.
5. FinOps Personas: Finance Training
FinOps Personas is a training program designed for finance team members who want to learn more about the practice of FinOps. Upon completion of the course, finance team members will acquire the skills to communicate effectively with technical teams, identify cost-saving opportunities, and optimize cloud spending.
The cost of the FinOps Personas course is $150, and it includes access to online video lectures, hands-on exercises, and real-world examples. It is designed to help finance team members understand how to collaborate with technical teams and implement FinOps practices in their organizations. It is based on the concept of “personas” such as product owners, leaders, engineers, and procurement professionals.
6. AWS FinOps Certification
The AWS FinOps Certification program validates an individual’s expertise in cloud cost management and optimization on the AWS platform. It covers topics such as cost allocation, usage-based pricing models, cost optimization strategies, and governance and compliance in cloud cost management.
The certification is an intermediate course designed for professionals who work with AWS cloud services, including cloud architects, engineers, and finance professionals. The course takes three days to complete and costs $2025.
Cloud Cost Optimization for FinOps Professionals with Spot by NetApp
While public cloud providers offer native tools for some cloud optimization, and even provide recommendations for potential cost reduction, they stop short of actually implementing any of those optimizations for you.
This is where Spot by NetApp’s portfolio can help. Spot not only provides comprehensive visibility into what is being spent on your cloud compute and by whom, but also:
- Generates an average saving of 68% by showing you exactly where you can use either EC2 spot instances or reserved capacity (RIs and Savings Plans) to save costs. It lets you reliably automate workload optimization recommendations in just a few clicks.
- Guarantee continuity for spot instances, ensuring even production and mission-critical applications can safely run on spot instances, using predictive algorithms and advanced automation to guarantee workload continuity.
- Manage RIs and Saving Plans portfolios, providing maximum utilization and ROI with minimal risk of financial lock-in and cloud waste.
- Maximize savings for DevOps teams running Kubernetes with proven machine learning and automation to continuously determine and deploy the most balanced and cost-effective compute resources for your container clusters.