FOCUS & SaaS FinOps and the "Rippling Water Effect"

I just had the pleasure of joining the Swiss FinOps Community MeetUp – and I want to thank all the amazing speakers!

• Wuming Zhang – you kicked things off with such great energy (and yes, your t-shirt was awesome!)

• Alexandre PARÈS – your session was truly inspiring and gave me a ton of new ideas.

• Erik Marke – I loved the Gameday concept. Gamification rocks!

• Cédric Weider – your presentation on the updated 2025 FinOps Framework from the FinOps Foundation really got me thinking.

One of the biggest takeaways? SaaS has officially been added as a scope within the FinOps Framework. That’s something I’m absolutely thrilled about – and I’d like to share some of my thoughts and experiences with you.

During Cedric’s session, Dorota Wilkos, CGMA, raised a brilliant question: Where is FOCUS already established within SaaS? It’s clear we’re just at the beginning of this journey. And while the foundation may still be forming, I’ve had some hands-on experience in this area that I’d love to share.

SaaS FinOps & the “Rippling Water Effect”

In 2024, I had the honor of presenting at the ITAM & Cloud Summit with Frank Dugrillon from Syngenta Group, where we shared our experience with SaaS FinOps and introduced the concept of the “Rippling Water Effect.”

At the heart of our story: data. And a key success factor? Microsoft Entra ID.

We were able to identify over 900 SaaS applications and more than 50,000 employees globally – all within a short period and using only three API connections, primarily via Entra ID.

Why did this work?

Because in many organizations, due to security requirements, authentication with Entra ID, Okta, or similar tools is mandatory. This gives you quick and powerful insight into:

• Which users accessed which SaaS apps

• When they last used them

• And how often

This level of visibility is a great starting point and offers immediate value. But as always, there’s more beneath the surface…

The Truth Behind the “Rippling Water Effect”

We coined the term because while initial visibility is great, it often only covers 80% (hello, Pareto Principle). There are still several challenges:

1. User Coverage

APIs from Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace, etc., allow you to see authenticated users. But if someone uses a standalone SaaS login? Blind spot. The good news: 250+ SaaS vendors now offer direct APIs, which help close this gap. It's a growing ecosystem – fast and simple to connect if you know how.

2. Shadow SaaS

Let’s be honest: people love tools, and IT can’t track everything. Enter Shadow SaaS. Browser add-ins can help detect unknown app usage, providing both transparency and security benefits.

3. Data Depth & Granularity

Now here’s the tricky part. Authenticator APIs and most vendor APIs usually only provide basic sign-in data. That’s helpful, but if you want to optimize SaaS licensing – user profiling, rightsizing, etc. – you’ll often miss key data.

That’s where the "Rippling Water" becomes real. You see where the waves are, but you'll need to dive deep to understand the cause. So, grab your diving gear, surround yourself with your FinOps personas, and get ready for exploration!

What does this mean for FOCUS?

FOCUS stands for normalizing cost and usage data across cloud vendors – and reducing complexity for FinOps practitioners.

With this SaaS discovery and authentication approach, FOCUS is not only possible – it’s surprisingly achievable. The real challenge lies in the diversity of SaaS vendors, each with different data models (if they even provide data!).

Still, the first step creates massive impact. If we keep our focus, dive deep, and bring our FinOps personas along, we’ll get there.

Outcome at Syngenta

Our project with Gemma Barlow and Frank Dugrillon was a great success. Thank you very much... it was an honor to contribute to your success! It opened up a new world beyond traditional SAM/ITAM and into SaaS FinOps.

Back then, we were even told “this isn’t FinOps” – and now, SaaS is officially part of the FinOps Framework. What a journey!

There’s so much more to share – maybe in an online session soon? Let me know what you think.

Check out the official case study: Syngenta | Trelica

One Last Thing…

Back to the meetup: yes, I have a strong Microsoft background – but after hearing Philippe Bosle and the Amazon Web Services (AWS) team, I have to say… I like you guys! It seems AWS really is cloud optimization friendly. Respect for the open attitude!