FinOps Glossary of Terms

Introduction

Version 5.0 offers a comprehensive filter glossary for dashboards and billing inventory that categorizes, organizes, and tracks costs across multi-cloud environments. The platform-specific filters utilize platform-defined attributes for efficient cost management.

These attributes are shown in both multi-cloud and cloud provider-specific dashboards, enabling users to manage their accounts effectively.

Platform-Specific Filters

Platform-defined attributes used to categorize, organize, and track costs across multi-cloud environments.

Attribute
(as Shown in MULTI CLOUD Dashboards)
Attribute
( as Shown in Cloud Provider Specific Dashboards)
DescriptionFilter TypePossible Values
(Examples)
Account StatusAccount StatusIndicates whether a cloud account is active, inactive, or Not-Onboarded within the platform.PlatformActive, Inactive, Not-Onboarded, Retired
Cloud Account Tag KeyCloud Account Tag KeyRepresents custom metadata labels applied at the cloud account level for cost tracking.PlatformUser-defined tag keys (Project, Department, Environment)
Cloud Account Tag ValueCloud Account Tag ValueThe value assigned to a cloud account tag key, defining specific categorization.PlatformUser-defined tag key values pairs  (Department : Marketing, Environment : Production)
Tenant Tag KeyTenant Tag KeyRepresents metadata tags used for tracking costs in the platform’s multi-tenant model.PlatformUser-defined tenant tag keys
Tenant Tag Key ValueTenant Tag Key ValueThe value associated with a tenant tag key.PlatformUser-defined tenant tag key and its values
Resource CategoryAWS – Usage Type

Azure – Meter

GCP – SKU Description

OCI – SKU Name
AWS - Usage Type: Categorizes cloud resources meters into predefined groups for cost tracking.

Mapping in Cloud Providers: AWS - UsageType; Azure – Meter Name  ; GCP – SKU Description; OCI – SKU Name
PlatformBoxUsage:t2.medium, Azure VM protected instances etc.
Tag StatusTag StatusIdentifies whether a resource has proper tagging or is missing key metadata.PlatformTagged, Untagged
Time RangeN/AEnables users to select time period to retrieve the data. This has many presets for easy consumption as well as well as multiple modes to help retrieve based on usage charge period ( Calendar Mode), Billing charge period ( Billing Mode) and Fiscal charge period ( Fiscal Mode). Also allows custom time range in calendar mode.PlatformCalendar Mode ( Charge Period): Many presets from today, yesterday…previous 3 years and custom time range.

Fiscal Mode: Only Presets , no custom range. Fiscal months, quarters, half year and years.

Billing Mode ( Billing Period) Presets at Monthly granularity.

Current month, Previous month, previous 3 months, Current Quarter, Previous Quarter.
GranularityGranularityN/APlatformDay, Month, Year
Cloud ProviderCloud ProviderA Provider is an entity that makes the resources or services available for purchase. It is commonly used for cost analysis and reporting scenarios.FOCUSAWS, Azure, GCP, OCI

Multi-Cloud FOCUS Filters

Filters aligned with the FOCUS FinOps framework, providing a standardized approach to cost and resource tracking across multi-cloud environments.

Attribute
(as Shown in MULTI CLOUD Dashboards)
Attribute
( as Shown in Cloud Provider Specific Dashboards)
DescriptionFilter TypePossible Values
(Examples)
Use Cases & Insights
Billing CurrencyBilling CurrencyBilling currency is an identifier that represents the currency that a charge for resources or services was billed in.

Billing Currency is commonly used in scenarios where costs need to be grouped or aggregated.
FOCUSUSD, INR,AUD, CAD etcN/A
Cost MetricsCost Metrics ( Values depend on dashboard type – see values)N/AN/AMulti Cloud (FOCUS) – Billed Cost, List Cost, Effective Cost, Contracted Cost

AWS: Unblended, NetUnblended, Amortized, Net Amortized, List Cost, Contracted Cost

Azure: Actual Cost, Amortized Cost , Retail Cost, Contracted Cost 

GCP : Cost, Effective Cost, List Cost, Contracted Cost

OCI: Cost, Attributed Cost, Contracted.

See Appendix B for definitions
N/A
Availability ZoneAWS - Availability Zone
Azure - Availability Zone
GCP – Zone
OCI – N/A.
An availability zone is a provider-assigned identifier for a physically separated and isolated area within a Region that provides high availability and fault tolerance. Availability Zone is commonly used for scenarios like analyzing cross-zone data transfer usage and the corresponding cost based on where resources are deployed.

Mapping in Cloud Providers Specific Dashboards: AWS - Availability Zone; Azure - Availability Zone ; GCP - Zones ; OCI - Availability Domain.

OCI: For OCI, Availability Zone is not yet processed. For Azure, it is available in specific cases. For AWS and GCP, it may be supported.
FOCUSus-east-1a, eu-west-3b, ap-south-1cEngineering & FinOps: Optimize cost by distributing workloads across lower-cost AZs.
Charge CategoryAWS - Charge Type
Azure - Charge Type
GCP - Cost Type
OCI - N/A
A Charge Category is the highest level classification for the type of charge that the billing row represents. The Charge Category is commonly used to identify prepaid purchases separately from usage-based charges or to separate charges that may require special handling from regular usage.

Mapping in Cloud Providers: AWS - Charge Type; Azure - Charge Type  ; GCP - Cost Type ; OCI - N/A
FOCUSAdjustment, Purchase, Tax, Usage. Each Category for easy of use it is further broken down by what these would be called in Cloud Provider.

Example: Adjustment in AWS has values Credit, Refund.

Breakdown of each mapping is provided in the table in Appendix A.
Finance & Procurement: Analyze cost breakdown by category for budgeting.
Pricing CategoryAWS –Purchase Option
Azure – Pricing Model
GCP – N/A
OCI - N/A
Pricing Category describes the pricing model used for a charge at the time of use or purchase. It can be useful for distinguishing between charges incurred at the list unit price (on-demand) or a reduced price (Spot, Reservation, etc.) and exposing optimization opportunities, like increasing commitment-based discount coverage.

Mapping in Cloud Providers: AWS – Product/Purchase Option ( Purchase Option) ; Azure – Pricing Model  ; GCP – N/A; OCI - N/A
FOCUSOn-Demand, Reserved, Spot, Savings PlanProcurement: Choose the most cost-effective pricing model based on past trends.
PublisherAWS – Legal Entity
Azure –Publisher Name
GCP – Seller Name
OCI - N/A
A Publisher is an entity that produces the resources or services that were purchased. It is commonly used for cost analysis and reporting scenarios.

Mapping in Cloud Providers: AWS – Legal Entity ; Azure –Publisher Name ; GCP – Seller Name; OCI - N/A
FOCUSAmazon Web Services, Inc; Microsoft, Google, AppDynamics, Inc.Finance & Leadership: Compare cloud provider costs for vendor negotiation.
Region IDAWS – Region ID
Azure – Location
GCP – Location
OCI – Region ID
A Region ID is a provider-assigned identifier for an isolated geographic area where a resource is provisioned, or a service is provided. The region is commonly used for scenarios like analyzing cost and unit prices based on where resources are deployed. 

Mapping in Cloud Providers : AWS – Region ID; Azure –Resource Location/Location; GCP – Region/Location.Region; OCI - Region
FOCUSus-east-1, eu-west-2, ap-south-1Leadership & Engineering: Optimize footprint by evaluating regional costs.
Service NameAWS - Product Code
Azure -Consumed Service
GCP – Service
OCI - Service
A service represents an offering that can be purchased from a provider (e.g., AmazonEC2,Microsoft.Compute). A service offering can include various types of usage or other charges. For example, a cloud database service may include compute, storage, and networking charges.

The Service Name is a display name for the offering that was purchased. The Service Name is commonly used for scenarios like analyzing aggregate cost trends over time and filtering data to investigate anomalies.

Mapping in cloud provider - AWS: Product Code; Azure : Consumed Service ; GCP - Service;  OCI - Service
FOCUSAmazonEC2, Microsoft.Compute, GoogleCloudSQL, OCIComputeFinOps & Engineering: Identify cost distribution per service across providers.
SKU IDAWS -Product SKU
Azure -SKU ID
GCP – SKU ID
OCI – Product SKU
A SKU ID is a unique identifier that defines a provider-supported construct for organizing properties that are common across one or more SKU Prices.

SKU ID can be referenced on a catalog or price list published by a provider to look up detailed information about the SKU. The composition of the properties associated with the SKU ID may differ across providers. Some providers may not support the SKU construct and instead associate all such properties directly with the SKU Price.

SKU ID is commonly used for analyzing cost based on SKU-related properties above the pricing constructs.

Mapping in cloud provider - AWS: Product SKU; Azure : SKU Id; GCP – SKU Id;  OCI – Product SKU
FOCUSProvider-specific SKU valuesProcurement: Validate pricing for invoice and chargeback accuracy.
Tag KeyTag KeyA metadata label used to categorize cloud resources for cost tracking.FOCUSUser-defined tag keys

Tag Key is Owner, Environment, Department, Application
FinOps & Engineering: Group resources by project, department, or business unit.
Tag ValueTag ValueThe value assigned to a Resource Tag Key, defining specific categorization.FOCUSUser-defined tag values

Tag Key is Owner and Value is UserName
Procurement & Engineering: Track department-level spending accurately.

Cloud Provider-Specific Filters

Filters that are unique to AWS, Azure, GCP, or OCI and follow the respective cloud provider's billing terminology. These are available in the Multi-Cloud Dashboard as well and can be used to filter data for that cloud provider.

Attribute
(as Shown in MULTI CLOUD Dashboards)
Attribute
( as Shown in Cloud Provider Specific Dashboards)
DescriptionFilter TypePossible Values
(Examples)
Use Cases & Insights
Billing Entity (AWS Only)Billing Entity (AWS Only)Identifies whether the charge is from AWS Marketplace or an AWS service.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS Only)AWS Marketplace, AWS Service ChargesFinance: Separate AWS Marketplace expenses from core AWS service costs.
Operation (AWS Only)Operation (AWS Only)Represents an AWS API operation that triggered the charge.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS Only)RunInstances, CreateVolume, DataTransfer-OutEngineering: Identify cost spikes from specific AWS operations.
Product Family (AWS Only)Product Family (AWS Only)Represents a broad AWS service category, such as Compute, Storage, or Database.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS Only)Compute, Storage, Database, AnalyticsLeadership: Identify the highest-spending AWS service category.
Pricing Purchase Option (AWS Only)Pricing Purchase Option (AWS Only)How an AWS service was purchased (Upfront, Partial, or No Upfront).Cloud Provider Specific (AWS Only)All Upfront, Partial Upfront, No UpfrontFinance & Procurement: Analyze upfront vs. partial reserved instance purchases.
Service Code (AWS Only)Service Code (AWS Only)A unique AWS service identifier used for billing.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS Only)AmazonEC2, AmazonS3, AWSLambdaFinOps & Procurement: Identify AWS services consuming the most cost.
Meter Sub Category (Azure Only)Meter Sub Category (Azure Only)Further breakdown of Azure service usage, such as VM tiers or storage classes.Cloud Provider Specific (Azure Only)Standard, Premium, HDD, SSDEngineering: Optimize Azure service tiers for cost savings.
Resource Group (Azure Only)Resource Group (Azure Only)Logical grouping of Azure resources for cost allocation.Cloud Provider Specific (Azure Only)Rg-1, rg-2Finance: Allocate Azure costs per project or business unit.

Additional Fields (Multi-Cloud FOCUS and Cloud Provider-Specific)

These filters provide extra metadata to enhance cloud billing and usage analysis across multi-cloud environments. These are available under the Additional Fields option in Filters and Group Bys. Many of them are cloud-specific but have been defined as additional fields as these are less frequently used.

Attribute (as Shown in MULTI CLOUD Dashboards)Attribute ( as Shown in Cloud Provider Specific Dashboards)DescriptionFilter Type ( applies to one specific or all clouds)Possible Values (Examples)Use Cases & Insights
Attachment Type (AWS Only) Attachment Type (AWS Only)Defines the type of attachment for AWS resources (e.g., network interfaces, volumes).Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)Network Interface, EBS Volume, IAM RoleEngineering: Track how resources are attached to instances.
Benefit Name (Azure Only)Benefit Name (Azure Only)The name of an Azure cost-saving benefit, such as Reserved Instances or Savings Plans.Cloud Provider Specific (Azure)Azure RI, Azure Savings PlanProcurement: Track Azure cost benefits applied to cloud spend.
Charge FrequencyAWS - Bill Type
Azure – Billing Frequency
GCP - N/A 
OCI - N/A
Charge Frequency indicates how often a charge will occur. Along with the charge period related columns, the Charge Frequency is commonly used to understand recurrence periods (e.g., monthly, yearly), forecast upcoming charges, and differentiate between one-time and recurring fees for purchases.

Mapping in Cloud Providers: AWS - Bill Type; Azure - Billing Frequency   ; GCP - N/A  ; OCI - N/A
FOCUSHourly, Monthly, AnnualFinance: Analyze recurring vs. one-time charges.
Commitment Discount CategoryN/ACommitment Discount Category indicates whether the commitment-based discount identified in the CommitmentDiscountId column is based on usage quantity or cost (aka “spend”).

Values: Spend , Usage

Example: Savings plan in AWS and Azure are Spend based discounts vs Reservations which are Usage Based.
FOCUSSpend, UsageFinance: Track cost savings based on commitments.
Commitment Discount IDAWS - Savings Plan/ Reservation  ARN
Azure - Benefit ID
GCP - N/A 
OCI - N/A
A Commitment Discount ID is the identifier assigned to a commitment-based discount by the provider. Commitment Discount ID is commonly used for scenarios like chargeback for commitments and savings per commitment-based discount.

Mapping in Cloud Providers: AWS - Savings Plan/Reservation  ARN; Azure - Benefit Id ; GCP - N/A  ; OCI - N/A
FOCUSUnique Discount ID valuesFinance: Validate billing data against reserved commitment records.
Commitment Discount TypeNot AvailableCommitment Discount Type is a provider-assigned name to identify the type of commitment-based discount applied.

Filter Values: Savings Plan , Reserved Instances ( RI)
FOCUSSavings Plan, Reserved Instances(RI)Procurement: Optimize upfront cost commitments.
Consumed UnitAWS - Pricing Unit
Azure - Unit of Measure
GCP - Usage Unit
OCI - Usage Unit
The Consumed Unit represents a provider-specified measurement unit indicating how a provider measures usage of a given SKU associated with a resource or service.

Consumed Unit complements the Consumed Quantity metric. It is often listed at a finer granularity or over a different time interval when compared to Pricing Unit (complementary to Pricing Quantity), and focuses on resource and service consumption, not pricing and cost.

Mapping in Cloud Providers: AWS - Pricing Unit; Azure - Unit of Measure/Unit Type(CSP) ; GCP - Usage Unit ; OCI - Usage Unit
FOCUSGB, vCPU-Hours, Requests, IOPSEngineering: Analyze service usage based on measured units.
Database Engine (AWS Only)Database Engine (AWS Only)Specifies the type of database engine for AWS RDS and similar services.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, AuroraEngineering: Track cloud database usage trends.
Deployment Option (AWS Only)Deployment Option (AWS Only)Identifies the deployment model for AWS services.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)Single-AZ, Multi-AZ, ServerlessEngineering: Optimize deployment models for cost-efficiency.
Instance Type (AWS Only)Instance Type (AWS Only)The compute instance type used in AWS services.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)t3.medium, m5.large, c5.xlargeProcurement: Analyze compute instance utilization.
Operating System (AWS Only)Operating System (AWS Only)Identifies the OS type for virtual machines and compute services.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)Windows, Linux, Red Hat, SUSEFinance: Track OS-based licensing costs.
Plan Name (Azure Only)Plan Name (Azure Only)Marketplace Plan NameCloud Provider Specific (Azure)Private, Standard, Per Node etcFinance & Procurement: Compare costs across Azure pricing models.
Publisher Type (Azure Only)Publisher Type (Azure Only)Defines the type of publisher in Azure Marketplace transactions.Cloud Provider Specific (Azure)Microsoft, Third-party ISVFinance: Track marketplace expenses.
Reservation Start Time ( AWS Only)Reservation Start Time ( AWS Only)The start date and time of a Reserved Instance or Savings Plan.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)Timestamp values (YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss)Finance: Track when reserved savings begin.
Reservation End Time (AWS Only)Reservation End Time (AWS Only)The end date and time of a Reserved Instance or Savings Plan.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)Timestamp values (YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss)Procurement: Plan for renewal or modifications.
Reservation Modification Status (AWS Only)Reservation Modification Status (AWS Only)Used to filter or show whether the RI lease was modified or if it is unaltered.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)N/AN/A
Storage Class (AWS Only)N/AThe storage tier used for an AWS storage service.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)Standard, Infrequent Access, Glacier, Deep ArchiveFinance: Optimize storage cost allocation.
Tenancy (AWS Only)N/ADefines whether an AWS EC2 instance runs on shared or dedicated hardware.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)Shared, Dedicated, HostProcurement: Optimize costs based on tenancy options.
Transfer Destination (AWS Only)N/AThe target destination of a data transfer operation.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)S3, EC2, CloudFront, VPC PeeringNetworking: Analyze inter-region and inter-service data transfer costs.
Transfer Source (AWS Only)N/AThe origin source of a data transfer operation.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)S3, EC2, CloudFront, Direct ConnectFinance: Identify cost-heavy data transfer operations.
Volume API Name (AWS Only)N/ARepresents the API used to provision storage volumes in AWS.Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)CreateVolume, ModifyVolume, DeleteVolumeEngineering: Track volume provisioning activity.
Volume Type (AWS Only)N/AIdentifies the AWS storage volume type (EBS).Cloud Provider Specific (AWS)gp2, gp3, io1, st1, sc1Engineering: Optimize storage performance and cost.

Appendix A – Charge Category Definitions

Charge Category Mapping by Cloud Provider

Adjustment

Cloud ProviderCharge TypeDescription
AWSCreditFinancial credit applied due to SLAs, promotions, or negotiated discounts.
AWSRefundReimbursement for incorrect billing or overcharges.
GCPCOMMITTED_USAGE_DISCOUNTDiscount applied for committed usage agreements.
GCPCOMMITTED_USAGE_DISCOUNT_DOLLAR_BASESpend-based committed use discount.
GCPDISCOUNTCredits earned after reaching a contractual spending threshold.
GCPFREE_TIERCredits applied for free-tier usage of services.
GCPPROMOTIONPromotional credits such as free trials or marketing campaign incentives.
GCPRESELLER_MARGINDiscounts earned by resellers on every eligible line item.
GCPSUBSCRIPTION_BENEFITCredits earned for long-term subscription commitments.
GCPSUSTAINED_USAGE_DISCOUNTAutomatic discounts applied for long-term Compute Engine usage.
GCPCREDIT_TYPE_UNSPECIFIEDUnclassified credit applied to the account.
GCPFEE_UTILIZATION_OFFSETCost offsets related to specific billing mechanisms.
GCPSPENDING_BASED_DISCOUNTCredits provided for reaching spending milestones.
GCProunding_errorAdjustments applied to correct minor rounding discrepancies.

Purchase

Cloud ProviderCharge TypeDescription
AWSFeeGeneral fees associated with AWS services.
AWSSavingsPlanUpfrontFeeUpfront cost for purchasing an AWS Savings Plan.
AWSSavingsPlanRecurringFeeRecurring fee for maintaining an AWS Savings Plan.
AWSRIFeeFees for purchasing Reserved Instances.
AWSSupportFeeAWS Support Plan fees.
AzurePurchaseCharges related to Azure services and third-party marketplace products.
GCPCommitmentCost incurred for signing committed use contracts.

Tax

Cloud ProviderCharge TypeDescription
AWSTaxTaxes applied to AWS services based on jurisdiction.
AzureTaxTaxes charged on Azure usage based on location and compliance regulations.
GCPTaxGovernment taxes applied on GCP services.

Usage

Cloud ProviderCharge TypeDescription
AWSUsageCost associated with regular usage of AWS services.
AWSSavingsPlanCoveredUsageUsage covered under an existing AWS Savings Plan.
AWSSavingsPlanNegationCost adjustments related to Savings Plan calculations.
AWSDiscountedUsageUsage that has received an applied discount.
AWSBundledDiscountDiscounts offered for bundling services together.
AWSPrivateRateDiscountDiscounts applied based on private pricing agreements.
AWSEdpDiscountEnterprise Discount Program reductions.
AWSSppDiscountSolution Provider Program discounts.
AWSDistributorDiscountDiscounts applied to AWS resellers.
AWSRiVolumeDiscountDiscounts given for purchasing Reserved Instances in bulk.
AWSUnusedReservationCost for unused Reserved Instances.
AWSUnusedSavingsPlanCost for unused Savings Plan capacity.
AzureRegular UsageStandard charges incurred based on Azure service usage.
GCPRegularStandard usage charges for GCP services.

Appendix B

Multi Cloud DashboardPlatform DatabasePlatform DatabaseUI Labels for cloud specific dashboardsUI Labels for cloud specific dashboardsUI Labels for cloud specific dashboardsUI Labels for cloud specific dashboardsUI Labels for cloud specific dashboards
Platform Vocabulary/FocusBackend Cost Metric IDBackend Cost Metric NameAWSAzureAzure CSPGCPOCI
Billed Costraw_costBilled CostNet Unblended CostActual CostActual CostCostCost
--raw_unblended_costUnblended CostUnblended CostN/AN/AN/AN/A
--raw_amortized_costAmortized CostAmortized CostN/AN/AN/AN/A
Effective Costraw_effective_costEffective CostNet Amortized CostAmortized CostEffective CostEffective CostMissing (Roadmap)
List Costraw_list_costList CostList CostRetail CostRetail CostList CostN/A
--raw_attributed_costAttributed CostN/AN/AN/AN/AAttributed Cost
Contracted Costtrue_costTrue CostContracted CostContracted CostContracted CostContracted CostContracted Cost

Multi-Cloud:

  • Billed Cost: The billed cost represents a charge serving as the basis for invoicing, inclusive of the impacts of all reduced rates and discounts while excluding the amortization of relevant purchases (one-time or recurring) paid to cover future eligible charges. This cost is denominated in the Billing Currency. The Billed Cost is commonly used to perform FinOps capabilities that require cash-basis accounting such as cost allocation, budgeting, and invoice reconciliation.
  • List Cost: List Cost represents the cost calculated by multiplying the list unit price and the corresponding Pricing Quantity. List Cost is denominated in the Billing Currency and is commonly used for calculating savings based on various rate optimization activities, by comparing it with Billed Cost and Effective Cost.
  • Effective Cost: Effective Cost represents a cost inclusive of the impacts of all reduced rates and discounts, augmented with the amortization of relevant purchases (one-time or recurring) paid to cover future eligible charges. The amortized portion included should be proportional to the Pricing Quantity and the time granularity of the data.
  • Contracted Cost: Contracted Cost is denominated in the Billing Currency and is commonly used for calculating savings based on negotiation activities and Billing Plans applied in the platform, by comparing it with List Cost. THIS IS THE TRUE COST that the customer get after all mark up, discount rules and charge allocations are applied through platform BillOps module.

Refer to standard descriptions for cloud provider specific terminology.