FinOps in Action
FinOps in Action
Podcast Description
Welcome to FinOps in Action! Join host, Alon Arvatz, Each week, as he sits down with FinOps experts to explore the toughest challenges between FinOps and Engineering. This show is brought to you by PointFive - empowering teams to optimize cloud costs with deep detection and remediation tools that drive action.
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The podcast focuses on cloud financial management, cost optimization, and collaboration between technical and financial teams, featuring episodes discussing the importance of aligning FinOps practices with business goals, enhancing data visibility in cost management, and best practices for fostering effective communication among various stakeholders in cloud operations.
Welcome to FinOps in Action! Join host, Alon Arvatz, Each week, as he sits down with FinOps experts to explore the toughest challenges between FinOps and Engineering. This show is brought to you by PointFive – empowering teams to optimize cloud costs with deep detection and remediation tools that drive action.
Can FinOps really be automated? Or do humans still need to stay in the loop?
In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Zak Ali, Global Lead for Cloud FinOps and Cloud Modernization at Invesco.
Zak unpacked the real-world risks of over-automation, why “humans in the loop” still matter, and how to drive FinOps adoption without mandates or chargeback.
With over 20 years of experience in technology and cloud transformation, Zak shares hard-earned lessons from automation gone wrong, plus the unconventional strategies he’s used to get engineers and executives to actually take action.
We also covered how FinOps maturity evolves beyond dashboards and tooling, and why communication, marketing, and business context become just as critical as technical optimization. Zak explains how shifting from micro-level cost discussions to macro business impact changes behavior across the organization.
Here’s what we talked about:
- The biggest mistake FinOps teams make when they over-automate without governance
- Why “humans in the loop” are still essential for cloud optimization and AI-driven FinOps
- How automation can quietly increase risk when there are no circuit breakers
- Creative ways to drive engineer engagement through gamification, recognition, and simplicity
- Why engineers do take action once they understand the real financial impact
- How a “cloud utility bill” reframed cloud spend for executives and sparked action
- What actually creates accountability in a showback model (without chargeback or mandates)
🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/
Quote of the Show:
- “Simplify the language. No techie speak, talk in dollars.” – Zak Ali
Links:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakirhali/
- Website: https://www.invesco.com/corporate/en/home.html
Ways to Tune In:
- Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808
- iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/
- Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t
- Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/
- Transistor: finopsinaction.com
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency
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