This article is intended to help you with ideas on how to position a FinOps as a Service offering that you can sell to customers as an MSP. The aim would be:
Maximize customer retention by ensuring customers have confidence in the ROI and efficiency of their Azure use
Generate new recurring revenue for your MSP business selling consultancy hours to look after the customers cloud investment
Business Plan – FinOps Service Offering for Azure Customers
1. Executive Summary
As a Microsoft MSP provider, we aim to deliver a dedicated FinOps Service Offering that helps our customers maximize the value of their Azure investments. Many organizations are frustrated with cloud bills that are larger than expected, lacking cost visibility, or struggling to align finance and technical teams.
Our service provides cost optimization, financial governance, and operational confidence. Customers gain the assurance that their cloud spend is actively managed, risks of overspending are reduced, and investments are aligned with business outcomes.
2. Business Goals
Maximize Customer Retention
Provide customers with confidence that their Azure spend is proactively managed.
Build trusted, long-term relationships by demonstrating measurable savings.
Win New Customers
Differentiate from competitors by offering a structured FinOps-as-a-Service model.
Target customers who are dissatisfied with current providers and rising costs.
Deliver Tangible Business Value
Reduce wasted cloud spend through right-sizing, reservations, and automation.
Align finance and technical teams with shared visibility and accountability.
Provide predictable, optimized cost management for ongoing Azure investments.
3. Service Offering & Scope
Core Services:
Cost Visibility & Reporting
Regular reports and dashboards showing spend, trends, anomalies, and forecasts.Cost Optimization
Identification and remediation of inefficiencies (over-provisioned resources, unused resources, etc.).Governance & Commitments
Implement and manage Azure Reservations, Savings Plans, Hybrid Benefit.Technical Debt Reduction
Use automation to clean up unused/legacy resources.Automation for Efficiency
Scale resources down/off when not in use; implement policies for cost-effective operations.Cross-Team Collaboration
Facilitate regular meetings between finance and engineering teams to align budgets, forecasts, and project deployments.Risk Management
Proactive monitoring to reduce cost overruns and identify spikes early.
Add-on / Premium Services:
Cloud Carbon Tracking (aligning with sustainability goals).
Benchmarking & KPIs (compare against industry peers).
Custom Alerts & Integrations with customer’s existing tools (Teams, Power BI, etc.).
4. Implementation Approach
Discovery & Baseline
Assess current Azure spend, architecture, and governance practices.
Establish cost baseline and identify “quick win” savings opportunities.
Onboarding & Setup
Deploy FinOps tooling (e.g.: Turbo360 or native Azure Cost Management).
Set up automation and reporting pipelines.
Ongoing Service Delivery
Monthly cost reports with recommendations and trend analysis.
Quarterly strategic reviews to realign budgets and commitments.
Continuous anomaly detection and response.
Collaboration Model
Define RACI (who manages, approves, implements changes).
Schedule regular governance meetings with finance + engineering stakeholders.
Continuous Improvement
Track savings realized and reinvest learnings into future optimizations.
Proactively recommend new Azure features/licensing that reduce cost.
5. Why It’s Important to Customers
Financial Assurance: Customers know their cloud spend is actively monitored and managed.
Operational Efficiency: Right-sizing ensures resources match business demand.
Risk Reduction: Avoid budget overruns and unexpected cost spikes.
Business Alignment: Finance and technical teams operate with shared visibility and accountability.
Competitive Advantage: Optimized cloud costs free up budget for innovation, not waste.
6. Promotion & Advertising Strategy
Target Audience:
IT Leaders (CTOs, CIOs, Heads of Infrastructure)
Finance Leaders (CFOs, Finance Directors)
Cloud/DevOps Teams frustrated with lack of visibility
Messaging Themes:
“Stop wasting money on Azure.”
“Get confidence someone is looking after your cloud spend.”
“Turn your Azure bill into a predictable, optimized investment.”
Promotion Channels:
LinkedIn Campaigns
Case studies showcasing savings achieved.
Infographics with “Top 5 Azure Cost Mistakes.”
Short video explainers (“How we saved £X for a customer in 3 months”).
Events & Webinars
Host FinOps workshops (“5 ways to cut 30% off your Azure bill”).
Collaborate with Microsoft distributors for co-marketing.
Thought Leadership Content
Blog posts, whitepapers, and ROI calculators.
E.g., “The MSP Guide to Cutting Azure Costs Without Compromising Performance.”
Customer References
Build case studies where you highlight real cost savings.
Direct Sales Enablement
Pitch decks for sales team with before/after savings stories.
Simple ROI models: “Every £1 you spend with us returns £3 in Azure savings.”
Customer Communication Strategy
Onboarding: Welcome pack explaining process, goals, and first steps.
Regular Communication: Monthly reports, anomaly alerts, and quarterly review calls.
Transparency: Share savings achieved and forecast future savings.
Education: Provide finance and engineering with training sessions on FinOps principles.
Feedback Loops: Regular surveys to ensure satisfaction and continuous improvement.
Success Metrics
% Cost Savings Realized (vs. baseline).
Customer Retention Rate.
Number of New Customers Acquired from Competitors.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) / Customer Satisfaction.
% Adoption of Reservations / Savings Plans.
Average ROI for customers (savings vs. MSP service fee).
✅ With this plan, you’re positioning your MSP as not just a technical support provider, but a strategic financial partner that bridges IT and finance, reduces waste, and builds customer trust.