Improve Visibility and Reporting
Build the baseline reporting and ownership signals you need before deeper optimization work.
Teams struggling to explain spend, ownership, or monthly changes.
Why this path first
If no one trusts the numbers, optimization stalls. This path focuses on reports, tagging visibility, and simple review cadences.
First-week plan
- 1Generate one cost or resource-group report your team can review weekly.
- 2Establish a single owner for the reporting routine and action follow-ups.
- 3Add tagging visibility so missing ownership is visible, not guessed.
- 4Create a recurring review agenda (waste findings, budget alerts, ownership gaps).
Recommended tools
CloudCostChefs Monthly RG Cost Report Generator
A PowerShell recipe that auto-whips up a playful, chef-worthy HTML cost report for every Resource Group in your Azure subscription—no portal gymnastics needed.
CloudCostChefs Tag Tracker – Your Azure RG Tag Compliance Sous-Chef
Free Azure workbook that spots missing Environment, Owner, CostCenter, and Project tags in real time—like a tagging hawk in your cloud kitchen.
CloudCostChefs Azure RG Owner Review
A PowerShell recipe that whips up a polished HTML report of each Application Resource Groups and delivers it straight to the Owner inbox—no portal surfing, just tag-driven governance.
Shadow Waste Assessment
Comprehensive multi-cloud shadow waste assessment framework that systematically identifies hidden cost drains across AWS, Azure, GCP, and OCI. Features interactive web-based assessment tool, detailed cost impact calculations, and professional implementation roadmap that transforms forgotten cloud resources into substantial annual savings.
Guides to read next
Understanding Cloud Costs
12 minDeep dive into cloud cost structures and pricing models for Cloud.
Q1 Budget Planning & Goal Setting
15 minTransform your cloud budget planning from reactive guesswork into strategic advantage with our proven 4-phase methodology, optimization strategies, and stakeholder alignment frameworks.
Success signals
- You have a repeatable weekly or monthly report
- Teams can identify owners for most high-cost resources
- Spend discussions are based on shared data, not screenshots
Need a different starting point?
Cut Waste
Start with high-confidence cleanup and underutilization wins before you build a full FinOps program.
Tagging & Governance
Standardize tags, ownership, and enforcement so optimization work scales without constant cleanup.
Learn FinOps
Use this path if you are new to FinOps and need a simple sequence before touching production workloads.
Prefer a guided answer instead?
If you are unsure which path fits best, the free FinOps assessment gives you a prioritized recommendation.
Start Free Assessment