Why I’m Leaving FinOps: A True Story

I’m officially stepping away from FinOps. What started as a vibrant, engaging community now feels dominated by a group that wants control, using shady tactics to do so. I'm no longer interested in playing along. But before I exit, I want to share how I lost customers because of this shift in FinOps.

For the sake of this article, I'll change some names—not to protect anyone, but to avoid potential lawsuits.

Key Players

- The "Organization": A central entity involved in FinOps.

- Company #1: Manages commitment spend autonomously and is a member of the "Organization."

- Company #2: Provides a cloud cost management platform that optimizes, allocates, and forecasts cloud expenses. They are also a member of the "Organization."

Timeline of Events

2023

- LinkedIn Learning Course:

Around June/July, we partnered with LinkedIn Learning to offer free FinOps Practitioner training. We recorded the course in October and launched it in January 2024. This was important because it showed our dedication to the FinOps community.

- Conference Plans:

In late 2023, I submitted a request to attend the "Organization’s" June 2024 conference. After weeks of no response, we made a backup plan. We booked a conference room at a nearby hotel to record content if we weren’t allowed to attend.

2024

- January:

In early 2024, I was officially denied access to the conference. They categorized me as "media," despite my plan to only take pictures and share them on social media like any other attendee. I wasn’t doing interviews or formal recordings.

We expressed our disappointment on LinkedIn, showing our frustration as advocates for FinOps. The post gained a lot of attention, with discussions about how the "Organization" had become more "pay-to-play," excluding genuine community members. One "Organization" member posted the conference rules, which led to heated conversations. To avoid further negativity, we deleted the post.

By late January, I reached out to the "Organization," hoping to resolve the tension, but they ignored my email. Instead, they began pressuring companies to stop working with me.

- FinOps Xclusive Launch:

By the end of the week, we launched our event, FinOps Xclusive, with sponsors and participants coming on board. We had pre-designed the event to be a contingency if we were denied conference attendance. The event branding initially had two palm trees, but we altered it slightly to avoid trademark issues—though the "Organization" still took issue with it.

- March:

Not long after, I received a Slack message from the CEO of Company #1 asking to meet. We’d been working with them for a while, and they were also "Organization" members. During the meeting, they asked if I had a problem with the "Organization," implying that I should reconsider hosting my event.

I then received an email from the "Organization’s" PR team, requesting a call. The conversation didn’t go well. They told me I couldn’t use the palm trees or host my event. I made it clear they don’t control FinOps, and I wasn’t going to comply.

At this point, it became obvious that the "Organization" was trying to control the narrative. They wanted to dictate how the FinOps community operated, but I wasn’t going to play by their rules.

- March 2024 - Sponsorship Drama:

Our event, now called FinOps NEXUS, continued to gain traction. However, after we announced Company #2 as a sponsor, their marketing team reached out, explaining that the "Organization" was pressuring them to withdraw their sponsorship. Company #2 complied, citing their concern about losing their "Organization" membership.

Ongoing Conflict with the "Organization"

- Attribution Issues:

The "Organization" required us to credit them whenever we used their materials. I complied, including attribution in videos and posts, but they began using this as leverage to pressure my partners to stop working with me.

- Logo Disputes:

In 2023, we were accepted to attend an "Organization" event and posted pictures that included their logo. However, in 2024, they asked us to remove it from any promotional materials. They hadn’t objected before, but suddenly this became an issue.

- April 2024 - Google NEXT Conference:

Before attending Google NEXT, we were planning a podcast recording with Company #1. A few weeks before the event, Company #1 started to pull back, citing pressure from the "Organization." At the last minute, they canceled our involvement, claiming they were “filled up.” I later found out this decision was made to limit their exposure with us due to the "Organization’s" influence.

During Google NEXT, Company #2 also scheduled a recording with us to discuss their cloud capabilities. However, after a last-minute meeting with a member of the "Organization," they expressed doubts about proceeding due to supposed legal action against us by the "Organization." Despite their desire to work with us, they put the recording on hold, choosing to prioritize their relationship with the "Organization" over doing the right thing.

A Turning Point

By mid-April, after numerous meetings and miscommunications, it became clear that working with companies affiliated with the "Organization" was becoming impossible. Every conversation turned into a negotiation over the "Organization’s" rules, guidelines, or pressure to stop our events and courses.

Company #1 decided to “pause” working with us, citing attribution issues and other fabricated concerns. Despite the good work we had done together, the "Organization’s" influence proved too strong, and they prioritized their membership status over our collaboration.

- Final Confrontation:

The "Organization" wanted us to remove our LinkedIn Learning course, cancel the FinOps NEXUS event, and eliminate our free FinOps quiz from our website. We wanted a clearer definition of attribution, which they failed to provide. This was the last straw for me.

Another Major Cloud Provider Issue

Before I wrap things up, the execs of this "Organization" also reached out to representatives at a major cloud provider we were supposed to interview during our event. They spread false information, claiming they were taking legal action against us.

We didn’t know about this at the time. However, the people we were going to interview gave us a vague story about how they “didn’t get approval for the interview and it’s taking longer than normal.” I once considered these people friends, but it became clear that the "Organization’s" lies were driving a wedge between us.

FinOps NEXUS

I was really passionate about creating a space that was open to the community, a space that was FREE, a space to share anything FinOps-related. I was going to leave it AS IS, but it turns out the community and FinOps leaders really enjoy the content. Someone in the community has offered to take it over and continue our passion. Stay tuned for some future announcements.

Conclusion

FinOps was once a vibrant, community-driven space, but it's shifted towards a pay-to-play model that no longer aligns with my values. I’m stepping back from making it a core focus, as I can't support something that doesn’t prioritize integrity.

That said, I’m not leaving tech, media, or creating content. If FinOps overlaps with my values and partnerships, I’ll still happily share, but my focus will be on building genuine connections and impactful content.