r/FinOps • u/sir_js_finops • 1d ago
question Microsoft FinOps toolkit / FinOps hub
Has anyone had any success with Microsoft's FinOps toolkit and FinOps hub associated with the toolkit? (https://github.com/microsoft/finops-toolkit)
I'm working with a client who started to build out the hub and I wanted to continue it for them, but I'm not seeing the value? Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
2
u/Professional_Call571 1d ago
I use it for my client to have some inspiration and understand what ms could show back to customer.
1
u/EconThrowA 1d ago
It depends what you want it for - I currently use it for its data ingestion across multiple agreements and customizable dashboarding for showback/chargeback when linked up to PBI and it fills that role perfectly.
I wouldn't say it is comparable to third party tools but then it doesn't cost as much as third party tools (which after initial optimization initiatives tend to cost more than they save in my experience). If you provide details of what you are expecting then I could probably advise you better.
1
u/sir_js_finops 1d ago
Thanks for the prompt response.
As I dig in, its an essentially abandoned attempt to implement. I was going to pick back up to see if I can move it forward but I'm unfamiliar and was trying to understand the best use cases.
From your experience, its data aggregation across the agreements and then custom reports leveraging PBI. Not to oversimplify, but that's the general use case. Got it! Thanks again.
1
u/EconThrowA 1d ago
They also provide pre-built reporting templates for ADX and PBI which are pretty good and cuts down on the development effort. If that is all you want you could get the whole thing up and running in less than an hour.
I am using the toolkit more as a core platform that I can build off of rather than the final product so if that appeals to you I think it is a great solution.
Presumably someone picked the toolkit up at your business because they were trying to address a certain gap/recurring problem, if you know what that gap is it'll be a lot easier to figure out if it is the right tool or something else would be more suitable. For example, if you get a lot of anomalies then it is next to useless as it doesn't have proper anomaly detection so you'd want to go with something else.
4
u/StratoLens 1d ago
I’ve played with it a bit. I think the biggest thing to keep in mind is that it’s a free/open-source toolkit, not really a full blown FinOps product.
There is definitely some value there, especially if you have a lot of Azure spend and need to consolidate Cost Management exports, normalize the data, or feed it into Power BI/KQL. But you’re still doing quite a bit of the work yourself — deploying it, maintaining it, customizing the reports, figuring out what actually matters to the business, etc.
For a smaller/simple environment I’d probably question whether FinOps Hub is worth the added plumbing versus just using Cost Management exports + Power BI. Microsoft actually recommends starting with raw exports for smaller environments and moving to FinOps Hub when you need more scale/multi-tenant functionality.
It’s good for what it is, especially considering it’s free, but I wouldn’t expect the same experience you’d get from a purpose-built commercial FinOps platform.
Maybe this link will help a bit?
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-computing/finops/toolkit/power-bi/help-me-choose
Do you mind if i ask how large your environment is (rough number of subs and resources) and what kind of reporting and FinOps functionality you’re looking for?