You can call it FinOps, Cloud Cost Optimization, or simply Cloud Spending. No matter the name, it’s the direction in which cloud discussions are headed.

Over the past decade, companies across various industries have removed the constraints on their IT budgets, embracing a mass migration from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud, and from virtual machines to containers and microservices powered by Kubernetes. The focus was on “developer velocity” and the ability to rapidly capture new markets with innovative platforms and services. In this digital world new innovations and best market outcomes can be shown.

However, financial conditions have tightened. Borrowing costs have risen, and cloud bills have become alarmingly high.

But hasn’t cloud cost been a significant concern already? Indeed, 72% of companies exceeded their cloud budgets last year by IT Professionals. A year ago, Datadog’s $65 million cloud observability bill raised eyebrows. More recently, Stability AI struggled under the heavy burden of its spending on cloud GPUs.

Interest in “Cloud Cost Optimization” has surged 66% this year compared to last, while “FinOps” mentions have increased by 76%.

Yet, there is still considerable opportunity for media and analyst engagement with cloud spending as a major theme.