The FinOps Desk
Practical cloud-cost analysis for data and cloud engineers
Independent, hands-on FinOps training built on SQL and real billing-data structures. Start with a free lesson; no account needed.
Start here · Flagship course
FOCUS Billing Analysis with SQL
Independent prep for the FinOps Certified FOCUS Analyst exam. Exam not included.
- ✓Query FOCUS billing data with SQL across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
- ✓Reconcile commitment amortization: BilledCost vs EffectiveCost, Used vs Unused
- ✓Detect cost anomalies and trace them to a driver
- ✓Build a unit-economics model finance can act on
5 self-paced weeks, about 10 to 12 hours. $89 one-time. Week 1 is free.
Free Resources.
Worked material you can use without buying anything or giving an email.
BilledCost vs EffectiveCost in FOCUS, with SQL
What each column means, how a commitment purchase and its amortization appear in FOCUS data, the SQL to reconcile them, the mistakes that make $0 rows look free, and where AWS, Azure and Google Cloud differ.
Free FOCUS analysis exercise: dataset, SQL and findings memo
A downloadable synthetic multi-cloud FOCUS dataset, five SQL questions with explained solutions you can run in DuckDB, and an example findings memo. No email required.
Cloud unit economics from FOCUS data: cost per 1,000 orders in SQL
How to turn a FOCUS billing export into a cost-per-order number you can defend: choosing the numerator, allocating shared and unused commitment cost, picking the grain, and checking whether cost really scales with volume. Runnable DuckDB SQL on a free synthetic dataset.
Choosing a FinOps learning path: skills training vs official credentials
Which learning options fit data engineers, cloud engineers and FinOps analysts, what an official FinOps Foundation credential gives you that skills training does not, and when the free options are the better choice.
All Courses.
Every course has a free first week. Not sure which fits? Compare learning paths, including free and official FinOps Foundation options.
Cloud FinOps Foundations
fundamentalsIndependent prep for the FinOps Certified Practitioner (FOCP) exam. Exam not included.
The full 9-week FinOps foundations course — cost allocation, forecasting, optimization, and governance.
FinOps for AI and ML Spend
intermediateIndependent course covering the FinOps Certified: AI Value domains. Exam not included.
Applying FinOps discipline to AI/ML spend -- token economics, GPU commitment ROI, and unit economics.
Technology Value Beyond Public Cloud
intermediateIndependent course on the material behind FinOps Certified: Technology Value. Exam not included.
FinOps beyond public cloud — Scopes and Technology Categories (SaaS, data center, data cloud platforms) applied to real business value.
Advanced FinOps Practice
advancedIndependent course for practitioners working toward FinOps Certified Professional. Not a credential.
A 10-week, post-FOCP program for scaling a FinOps practice across multiple clouds and business units — governance at scale, cross-functional influence, and commitment strategy.
FinOps for Engineers
fundamentalsIndependent prep for the FinOps Certified Engineer exam. Exam not included.
A hands-on FinOps course for backend, platform, and DevOps/SRE engineers — tagging enforcement, cost-aware architecture, rightsizing automation, Kubernetes cost allocation, and CI/CD cost gates.
FOCUS Billing Data Fundamentals
fundamentalsHow the FOCUS specification structures cloud billing data. No certification attached.
A 4-week technical deep dive into FOCUS, the FinOps Foundation’s open billing-data specification, grounded in the current v1.4 spec.
Kubernetes Cost Allocation
intermediateIndependent course grounded in the FinOps Foundation's published container-cost guidance. Not the Foundation's own course.
An applied, 5-week course in Kubernetes and container cost allocation — namespace showback/chargeback, requests vs. limits vs. usage, bin-packing, and idle capacity.
All-Access Bundle
All 8 courses for $300, instead of $712 bought one at a time. Courses added to the catalog later are not included.
Free: Cloud Bill Reading Cheat Sheet
The 6 FinOps Principles, the 5 stakeholder personas, and a billing-model glossary on one page. No account needed.
What This Is.
The FinOps Desk is a small, independent training site. The courses are written lessons with SQL, worked examples and exercises, built for people who will do the analysis themselves rather than only learn the vocabulary. Examples use fictional companies with synthetic billing data that follows the FOCUS specification, so every number can be checked by hand.
Some courses are organized around the skill areas of FinOps Foundation certifications. None of them include an official exam or award a FinOps Foundation credential; each course page says exactly how it relates to one.
Frequently Asked.
Where should I start?
Can I try it before I buy?
Are these official FinOps Foundation courses?
Do I need an account to buy?
Do you offer refunds?
Your Instructor.
Adam Morad
Cloud FinOps and data engineering practitioner. Adam manages $10M+ in annual multi-cloud spend, with a track record of cutting cloud costs 20 to 30% through rightsizing and commitment management, and writes and maintains every lesson on The FinOps Desk.
Previously worked at VAST Data, NemoData, Cyber@ Ben-Gurion University (Deutsche Telekom Innovation Labs).
Worked With
Companies Adam has worked with professionally. Not endorsements of The FinOps Desk.
Anodot
Wiv.ai
DoiT
