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FinOps in Action · May 28 · 38 min

Effective Cloud Collaboration ft. Chitra Jadhav | Ep # 71

Are "bad tagging" and "unused resources" really the problem, or just the symptoms of a bigger one? In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with senior FinOps manager Chitra Jadhav to explore what it truly takes to build a FinOps practice that lasts not just one that generates a list of recommendations nobody acts on. Drawing on eight years of building FinOps programs from the ground up across six or more organizations, Chitra explains how governance, culture, and cross functional collaboration are the real foundations of cloud cost optimization and why FinOps is only as powerful as the trust and authority an organization is willing to give it. From Architecture Review Boards to Production Readiness Reviews, this conversation unpacks how FinOps can embed itself into the engineering lifecycle before waste ever happens, and why the shift to AI spend makes getting those basics right more urgent than ever. Here’s what we talked about: Why organizational recognition and governance are the prerequisites for any FinOps program to succeed How to assess FinOps maturity using the FinOps Foundation framework as a starting point Why FinOps is a team sport and how to engage finance, engineering, procurement, and application teams What ARBs and Production Readiness Reviews are and how FinOps earns a seat at the table How to approach optimization when native cloud provider recommendations run dry The importance of the FinOps champion model when working across large engineering organizations Chapters: 00:47 Meet Chitra Jadhav 01:56 Why FinOps Matters 03:37 Starting From Scratch 03:52 Maturity Assessment Basics 04:48 Stakeholder Engagement Model 05:56 Where FinOps Reports 07:16 Defining Governance 08:14 FinOps Checkpoints ARB PRR 10:42 What Is an ARB 12:51 Running ARB Without Bloat 16:38 Shift Left to Optimization 18:22 Champion Model and Visibility 21:05 Authority Trust and Culture 25:29 Realistic Goals and Commitments 29:20 Beyond Native Recommendations AI 33:02 AI Spend and Future Wrap 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/ Quote of the Show: "Instead of paying that money and incurring that waste, you are taking some steps proactively by making sure that you are present at these discussions." - Chitra Jadhav Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chitrajadhav/ Website: https://www.rogers.com/ 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/@PointFive_Inc

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Are "bad tagging" and "unused resources" really the problem, or just the symptoms of a bigger one?


In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with senior FinOps manager Chitra Jadhav to explore what it truly takes to build a FinOps practice that lasts not just one that generates a list of recommendations nobody acts on.


Drawing on eight years of building FinOps programs from the ground up across six or more organizations, Chitra explains how governance, culture, and cross functional collaboration are the real foundations of cloud cost optimization and why FinOps is only as powerful as the trust and authority an organization is willing to give it.


From Architecture Review Boards to Production Readiness Reviews, this conversation unpacks how FinOps can embed itself into the engineering lifecycle before waste ever happens, and why the shift to AI spend makes getting those basics right more urgent than ever.

 

Here’s what we talked about:

  • Why organizational recognition and governance are the prerequisites for any FinOps program to succeed
  • How to assess FinOps maturity using the FinOps Foundation framework as a starting point
  • Why FinOps is a team sport and how to engage finance, engineering, procurement, and application teams
  • What ARBs and Production Readiness Reviews are and how FinOps earns a seat at the table
  • How to approach optimization when native cloud provider recommendations run dry
  • The importance of the FinOps champion model when working across large engineering organizations

Chapters:

00:47 Meet Chitra Jadhav

01:56 Why FinOps Matters

03:37 Starting From Scratch

03:52 Maturity Assessment Basics

04:48 Stakeholder Engagement Model

05:56 Where FinOps Reports

07:16 Defining Governance

08:14 FinOps Checkpoints ARB PRR

10:42 What Is an ARB

12:51 Running ARB Without Bloat

16:38 Shift Left to Optimization

18:22 Champion Model and Visibility

21:05 Authority Trust and Culture

25:29 Realistic Goals and Commitments

29:20 Beyond Native Recommendations AI

33:02 AI Spend and Future Wrap


 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/ 


Quote of the Show:

"Instead of paying that money and incurring that waste, you are taking some steps proactively by making sure that you are present at these discussions." - Chitra Jadhav


Links:

Ways to Tune In:

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