What’s New in FinOps Toolkit 13 – January 2026

The FinOps toolkit has been a beacon for those who navigate the complex waters of cloud cost management, and this January 2026 release continues to steer practitioners toward efficiency and innovation. Whether you’re an experienced FinOps practitioner or someone tasked with lowering cloud costs amidst increasing financial scrutiny, the latest version of the FinOps toolkit stands to offer significant benefits. Let’s dive into the improved features and see what’s driving the excitement in the FinOps community.

Fast-Tracked Troubleshooting Through Expanded Documentation

Documentation can make or break a tool’s usability, and the latest FinOps release acknowledges this by expanding and clarifying its resources. The new Data Lake Storage connectivity guide is particularly noteworthy, offering clear pathways to use data beyond just Power BI, paving the way for versatile analytical capabilities.

The scope configuration documentation updates are another high point, providing better support for multiple Azure scopes and more streamlined cross-cloud data ingestion. A special mention goes to the new section on removing unnecessary private networking, a valuable tip for reducing costs effectively.

Moreover, tackling troubleshooting issues head-on, the expanded guidelines now address common Data Explorer ingestion errors, like SEM0080 and ingestion drop failures, providing a faster, more informed troubleshooting path. These documentation upgrades, combined with updated Power BI reports and the addition of new fields in FOCUS converter documentation, create a robust reference for resolving issues swiftly.

Community Engagement Through FinOps Toolkit Office Hours

Engagement has always been central to the FinOps ethos. Answering the calls from its dedicated community, the FinOps team has introduced office hours as a platform for dynamic interaction. Taking place every other Wednesday from 8:30 to 9:00 AM Pacific, these sessions invite FinOps users of all stripes to bring issues, feedback, or feature requests directly to the discussion table. With a no-agenda, drop-in approach, the ethos is clear: every voice matters in shaping the future of FinOps.

Scaling FinOps Hubs for Enterprise Demand

As organizations increasingly adopt FinOps hubs, robust scaling solutions have become necessary. The current update emphasizes compliance, reliability, and extensibility. The new enablePurgeProtection parameter represents a significant leap, offering flexibility by enabling Key Vault purge protection in environments that require it without adding friction elsewhere.

Reliability has been a focal area, addressing critical issues, including problems with ADF triggers, InitializeHub pipeline failures, and data inconsistencies. With reliability improvements, organizations can now trust their FinOps deployments to recover gracefully from failures.

Extensibility remains crucial in the FinOps hubs’ design, evidenced by the reorganization of Bicep templates into application modules. This move sets the stage for modular, flexible deployments in future releases, promising powerful integration capabilities tailored to specific organizational needs.

Streamlining Export Automation with Parquet

Managing large Cost Management exports has long been a challenge in complex environments. Addressing this, the FinOps toolkit introduces Parquet file support through the New-FinOpsCostExport command in PowerShell, accommodating columnar data coupled with snappy compression for optimized processing speed and reduced storage requirements.

The community-first approach shines through with this development, credited to a proactive GitHub contributor, underscoring the FinOps toolkit’s collaborative foundation.

Other Noteworthy Updates

While major announcements dominate, several minor changes are poised to smoothen edges across the system:

• Power BI reports now manage special character tags better.
• Enhanced disc attachment logic within workload optimization reports.
• Fixed exclusions in date calculations for more accurate data presentation.
• EA department scope corrections ensure seamless pricesheet export.

On the Azure Optimization Engine end, adjustments like switching SQL database backup redundancy to LRS offer improved compatibility and cost efficiency without sacrificing data security.

Looking Forward

As FinOps toolkit version 13 rolls out, its community’s eagerness to contribute is palpable. Despite quiet periods, the toolkit continues to evolve rapidly, with AI integration, enhanced recommendations, and premium services on the horizon. This evolution promises to provide more refined cost management capabilities, aiding practitioners in achieving strategic, informed financial operations.

Stay connected to this vibrant community, contribute, and shape the future of cloud financial management with FinOps. Whether you’re starting your journey or already on it, this is just the beginning of what FinOps Toolkit can help you achieve.

Feel the pulse of the FinOps community, and seize the opportunities to innovate and optimize with the tools of tomorrow, today.