In cloud computing, the meter is always running and that can mean mounting costs. When annual costs for Microsoft Azure soared to $18 million, a large US regional bank sought to rein in cloud expenses and, equally important, develop a more educated and informed approach to cloud consumption.

The CIO tapped Cognizant to help the bank shift its cloud use from reactive to proactive. The goal was to not only prioritize and execute savings in on-demand cloud usage but also to reallocate the funds to strategic initiatives, such as data center consolidation and investments in payments and deposits improvements.

To help the growing bank meet its business goals, Cognizant developed a custom program that introduced the concept of FinOps to the IT staff, extending it beyond cost savings to include transforming the culture and processes for better cloud cost optimization.