What’s New in FinOps Toolkit 0.11 – May 2025

As the digital transformation continues to drive businesses to the cloud, the need for efficient finance operations (FinOps) becomes more critical than ever. Whether you’re a seasoned FinOps practitioner, someone enthusiastic about optimizing cloud efficiency, or simply tasked with reducing costs, the May 2025 update of the FinOps toolkit has something valuable for you. Let’s delve into the innovative improvements this latest release offers.

Introducing Agentic AI for FinOps Hubs

Not long ago, artificial intelligence (AI) was a novelty reserved for specialists. Today, it has become an integral part of our daily workflows, answering questions, summarizing content, and even generating content autonomously. The real breakthrough, however, lies in using AI to orchestrate complete workflows, taking actions and performing tasks that benefit financial operations.

With the latest update, the FinOps toolkit enables AI agents, including GitHub Copilot, to connect seamlessly with FinOps hubs. Utilizing predefined AI instructions and the Azure MCP server, users can now unlock real-time FinOps insights. This transformation allows immediate access to cloud cost analysis, efficiency metrics, and optimization recommendations without the need for deep KQL expertise. By embedding AI-driven automation into FinOps processes, we redefine operational possibilities at scale.

For those eager to jump in, GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code offers a user-friendly starting point. You don’t need to be a developer—anyone can connect to their FinOps hub within minutes and start benefiting from these enhancements.

Power BI Updates: Enhanced Invoicing and Analysis

As part of the continuous improvement strategy, the FinOps toolkit has introduced significant enhancements to Power BI reports. The May release includes a new Invoicing and Chargeback report, alongside updates within the Rate Optimization and Cost Summary reports.

Invoicing and Chargeback Report

This comprehensive report aids in implementing the Invoicing and Chargeback capability, featuring detailed breakdowns of billed costs, reconciliation pages for both Enterprise Agreement (EA) and Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA), and chargeback information.

Commitment Discounts and Usage Analysis

The Rate Optimization report now includes pages dedicated to commitment discounts—specifically a Commitment Discount Utilization page and a Commitment Discount Resources page. These new features address common queries about historical data and discount utilization, enabling deeper exploration directly from within the reports.

Additionally, the Cost Summary report introduces a new Usage Analysis page, offering a nuanced view of usage versus cost trends. This allows for a detailed breakdown of expenses over time, providing better insights into cost management.

Community-Driven Documentation Updates

Listening to our vibrant community, we’ve incorporated two top-requested features into the FinOps hubs documentation. This includes publishing an architecture diagram to simplify understanding the system’s framework. These documentation enhancements aim to support both new and existing users in navigating the FinOps landscape effectively.

Noteworthy Updates: Small Changes, Big Impact

Every update in the toolkit comes with several small yet impactful improvements:

• Implementing FinOps Guide: Documentation of a new conformance gap in FOCUS 1.0.
• FinOps Hubs: Adjustments in billing period marks and alignment with the extensibility model.
• Power BI Reports: Resolution of date-handling inconsistencies.
• Azure Optimization Engine: Upgrade of SQL Server API versions ahead of deprecation.

Looking Ahead: The Future of FinOps

The roadmap for FinOps holds exciting prospects. Future updates will bring enhanced recommendations in FinOps hubs, improved support for FOCUS 1.2, and ongoing expansions in both Power BI and FinOps workbooks. As always, community feedback plays a pivotal role in shaping these developments, ensuring that the FinOps toolkit evolves to meet real-world demands.

Stay tuned for further updates, and continue to share your insights and suggestions. Together, we’re making financial operations in the cloud more efficient, accessible, and innovative for everyone involved.

For more details on the latest features and how to implement them, visit the FinOps toolkit documentation.