FinOps Foundation Unveils FOCUS 1.3 for Enhanced Cloud Billing Transparency and Vendor Support
On December 11, 2025, the FinOps Foundation announced the launch of FOCUS 1.3, a significant update aimed at improving cloud and SaaS billing transparency. This new version focuses on resolving critical issues related to shared resource cost allocations, tracking contractual obligations, and ensuring data accuracy. With cloud computing becoming increasingly complex, the need for better financial management tools has never been more crucial.
FOCUS, which stands for FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification, has been instrumental since its inception in 2023. The primary goal of this initiative is to simplify the financial management processes associated with cloud services, software as a service (SaaS), and data centers, which can often contribute to confusion for FinOps practitioners. This latest iteration, FOCUS 1.3, addresses three of the most persistent challenges faced by these professionals.
One of the standout features of FOCUS 1.3 is the introduction of enhanced tracking for shared resource costs. This capability allows practitioners to understand how costs are divided among various workloads, specifically useful for those managing Kubernetes pods and database instances. Previously, teams often had to create custom solutions to achieve this clarity, but the new allocation-specific columns now provide a systematic way to expose these splitting methodologies. This change is designed to streamline processes for platform engineering teams and FinOps analysts.
Additionally, FOCUS 1.3 offers a dedicated dataset for tracking contract commitments. In the past, understanding how cloud costs align with service provider contracts required considerable manual effort, often leaving gaps in reporting. The introduction of the "Contract Commitment" dataset isolates critical terms such as start and end dates, ensuring that users can easily access all pertinent information about their current agreements. This functionality aims to enhance decision-making in cloud financial management.
Another advancement includes improvements in verifying the recency and completeness of data. FOCUS 1.3 mandates that providers timestamp datasets and provide flags indicating their completeness. As a result, FinOps practitioners will be less likely to encounter outdated or incomplete information, allowing for seamless reconciliation processes and increased confidence when making informed decisions.
The FinOps Foundation has seen widespread support for FOCUS from major cloud and technology firms, including Alibaba, AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft. This collaborative effort has not only facilitated the growth of the FOCUS initiative but has also ensured that a diverse array of service providers contributes to the ongoing refinement of the specification.
Moreover, the new FOCUS 1.3 release reaffirms commitment to enhancing the overall FOCUS framework, which now accommodates more diverse cloud and SaaS providers. Over a dozen providers have already pledged their support for FOCUS, further amplifying its significance in helping organizations manage their financial data more effectively.
As a part of this launch, the FinOps Foundation is also updating its FinOps Certified FOCUS Analyst course to align with the new features introduced in FOCUS 1.2. This update will allow participants to engage with the latest capabilities and utilize them for better, unified reporting across multiple service platforms.
Looking ahead, the FinOps community continues to encourage feedback and feature requests for upcoming versions. The FOCUS 1.4 specification is already in the works, indicating a commitment to evolve the standards with member feedback and to expand support across additional spending areas, including artificial intelligence and advanced data management.
The FOCUS project team will also host a dedicated lab at the FinOps X conference in San Diego from June 8-11, 2026, providing attendees a chance to gain hands-on experience with the specification and insights directly from experts in the field.
The FinOps Foundation is a nonprofit trade association aimed at advancing the practices and people involved in cloud financial management. It comprises tens of thousands of professionals across various sectors, including many Fortune 100 companies. By offering peer connections, certification programs, and open-source best practices, the foundation plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of financial operations in technology.
FOCUS, which stands for FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification, has been instrumental since its inception in 2023. The primary goal of this initiative is to simplify the financial management processes associated with cloud services, software as a service (SaaS), and data centers, which can often contribute to confusion for FinOps practitioners. This latest iteration, FOCUS 1.3, addresses three of the most persistent challenges faced by these professionals.
Key Enhancements in FOCUS 1.3
One of the standout features of FOCUS 1.3 is the introduction of enhanced tracking for shared resource costs. This capability allows practitioners to understand how costs are divided among various workloads, specifically useful for those managing Kubernetes pods and database instances. Previously, teams often had to create custom solutions to achieve this clarity, but the new allocation-specific columns now provide a systematic way to expose these splitting methodologies. This change is designed to streamline processes for platform engineering teams and FinOps analysts.
Additionally, FOCUS 1.3 offers a dedicated dataset for tracking contract commitments. In the past, understanding how cloud costs align with service provider contracts required considerable manual effort, often leaving gaps in reporting. The introduction of the "Contract Commitment" dataset isolates critical terms such as start and end dates, ensuring that users can easily access all pertinent information about their current agreements. This functionality aims to enhance decision-making in cloud financial management.
Another advancement includes improvements in verifying the recency and completeness of data. FOCUS 1.3 mandates that providers timestamp datasets and provide flags indicating their completeness. As a result, FinOps practitioners will be less likely to encounter outdated or incomplete information, allowing for seamless reconciliation processes and increased confidence when making informed decisions.
Broadening Support Across Providers
The FinOps Foundation has seen widespread support for FOCUS from major cloud and technology firms, including Alibaba, AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft. This collaborative effort has not only facilitated the growth of the FOCUS initiative but has also ensured that a diverse array of service providers contributes to the ongoing refinement of the specification.
Moreover, the new FOCUS 1.3 release reaffirms commitment to enhancing the overall FOCUS framework, which now accommodates more diverse cloud and SaaS providers. Over a dozen providers have already pledged their support for FOCUS, further amplifying its significance in helping organizations manage their financial data more effectively.
Upcoming Developments and Community Engagement
As a part of this launch, the FinOps Foundation is also updating its FinOps Certified FOCUS Analyst course to align with the new features introduced in FOCUS 1.2. This update will allow participants to engage with the latest capabilities and utilize them for better, unified reporting across multiple service platforms.
Looking ahead, the FinOps community continues to encourage feedback and feature requests for upcoming versions. The FOCUS 1.4 specification is already in the works, indicating a commitment to evolve the standards with member feedback and to expand support across additional spending areas, including artificial intelligence and advanced data management.
The FOCUS project team will also host a dedicated lab at the FinOps X conference in San Diego from June 8-11, 2026, providing attendees a chance to gain hands-on experience with the specification and insights directly from experts in the field.
About the FinOps Foundation
The FinOps Foundation is a nonprofit trade association aimed at advancing the practices and people involved in cloud financial management. It comprises tens of thousands of professionals across various sectors, including many Fortune 100 companies. By offering peer connections, certification programs, and open-source best practices, the foundation plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of financial operations in technology.
Topics Business Technology）
【About Using Articles】
You can freely use the title and article content by linking to the page where the article is posted.
※ Images cannot be used.
【About Links】
Links are free to use.