CloudBolt Software, acknowledged as a leader in cloud financial management, has unveiled a series of state-of-the-art Augmented FinOps capabilities it will bring to market in 2024. The Cloud ROI Company intends to extend financial operations (FinOps) capabilities to every cloud at all resource lifecycle stages, using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and industry-leading orchestration.

FinOps, a mix of financial management principles, cloud engineering, and operations, offers organisations deeper insight into their cloud spending patterns. This solution evaluates the effectiveness of cloud cost allocation and optimisation. However, many traditional FinOps solutions have disappointed by only retrospectively analysing a company's cloud spend. Despite 82% of companies integrating formal FinOps practices, only 24% anticipate significant impact within the first year.

Craig Hinkley, CEO of CloudBolt, highlighted the ongoing issues facing companies in managing cloud costs. He said that companies are "grappling with rising cloud costs without a clear picture of the value their investments bring to the business." Solutions to date have been expensive, ineffective, and only resolved thin slices of the cloud finance problem. In response to these market challenges, Hinkley stated, "The new cloud imperative is value-driven decision-making. At CloudBolt, our mission is to make this possible."

CloudBolt aims to pioneer Augmented FinOps, offering a substantial evolution in cloud financial management, according to global research firm, Gartner. Kyle Campos, CloudBolt's CTO and product officer, further reinforced the importance of this milestone development. "For the first time, practitioners will be able to leverage AI/ML-informed insights and apply intelligent automation and orchestration both retrospectively and proactively," he said. "In doing so, users will finally be able to enjoy complete cloud lifecycle optimisation."

CloudBolt's impending Augmented FinOps capabilities will focus on three key areas: AI/ML-informed cost insights, full lifecycle FinOps to facilitate automatic, data-driven decisions across all resource stages, and a unified control framework that brings public and private clouds together into one cohesive cloud fabric.

"Our goal is to empower organisations to shift their mindset from 'Cloud First' to 'Cloud Right'," expressed Hinkley. Cory Moore, Vice-President of Infrastructure & Cloud Operations at BeyondTrust, welcomed this sentiment, sharing his excitement about the new capabilities that "will help us further maximise cloud ROI."

In a new collaboration, the FinOps Foundation has announced that CloudBolt Software has become a Premier Member. J.R. Storment, Executive Director of the FinOps Foundation, welcomed the partnership, stating, "We welcome CloudBolt as a Premier Member and look forward to their support in shaping the landscape of how global companies both manage and maximise their cloud spend."

Kyle Campos, CloudBolt’s Chief Technology and Product Officer, will be joining the Governing Board of the FinOps Foundation. "Surging cloud costs continue to be a huge headache for IT leaders," said Campos. "We're well-positioned to join the FinOps Foundation to help advance and educate the industry on how organisations can continuously and automatically optimize cloud spend."