What does FinOps look like in highly regulated industries — and why is speed so critical when managing commitments and anomalies?
In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Gordon Douglass, VP of Cloud Assets & Risk Management at SAP NS2, to talk about the real-world challenges of running FinOps in government and enterprise-scale environments.
Gordon shares why commitments are one of the scariest parts of FinOps, how to balance anomaly detection with meaningful action, and what it means to wear “many hats” as a FinOps leader. He also explains how regulations, procurement, and engineering collaboration add layers of complexity — and how to navigate them successfully.
Here’s what we talked about:
- Why commitments can make or break FinOps strategy
- How to balance speed and accuracy in anomaly detection
- What FinOps looks like in regulated industries like government cloud
- The “many hats” of a FinOps practitioner and leader
- Lessons from SAP NS2’s approach to cloud cost management
🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/
Quote of the Show:
"We have regular cadences both internally within my group itself in addition to that also with engineering and operations, just to see and make sure that they understand or can justify what's going on. " - Gordon DouglassLinks:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordondouglass/
- Website: https://sapns2.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/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.