COMMITMENTS
How FinOps Brings Procurement Into the Cloud Conversation

Procurement has always been about leverage, securing the best terms, protecting the business, and managing relationships with vendors. In the era of cloud and SaaS, those responsibilities haven’t gone away, but they’ve gotten a lot more complicated.

Traditional procurement processes weren’t built for consumption-based pricing or the rapid growth of vendor portfolios. Discount programs, marketplace terms, and overlapping licenses all make the job harder. This is where FinOps steps in, providing the cost visibility and utilization data procurement needs to negotiate smarter and prevent waste.

Procurement’s Evolving Role in the Cloud Era

Procurement’s primary role has always been clear: manage vendor relationships and secure favorable terms. In cloud, that mission has not changed, but the variables have multiplied.

A sourcing analyst today is not just comparing bids across three hardware suppliers. They may be analyzing a multi-million-dollar AWS Private Pricing Agreement, weighing Azure Marketplace commitments, or reviewing a SaaS portfolio with hundreds of contracts. A vendor manager is not just making sure a supplier meets SLAs. They are navigating hyperscaler relationships where discounts depend on accurate consumption forecasts. And contract administrators are not just tracking expiration dates, but also ensuring terms like “benefit eligible” in Azure are applied correctly to spend.

Cloud has raised the stakes, and procurement cannot win without better data. That is where FinOps makes the difference.

Real World Examples: Where FinOps Drives Impact

  • Office of Personnel Management (OPM):
    By aligning procurement with FinOps, OPM optimized Reserved Instances, SQL Instances, and Blob Storage. This collaboration resulted in ~35% savings or cost avoidance, proving that when cost visibility meets contract expertise, procurement teams can negotiate commitments and fulfill terms effectively (GSA Case Study).

  • SaaS Rationalization in a Global Manufacturer:
    With ~$2.8M annual SaaS spend, this enterprise discovered 42% of licenses were unused or underutilized. After FinOps-powered rationalization, the company cut its app portfolio nearly in half (from 127 to 68) and saved ~35% annually through rightsizing, contract renegotiation, and vendor consolidation (Binadox Case Studies).

  • AWS Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) Negotiations:
    Companies that negotiate AWS PPAs unlock significant multi-year discounts, but only when they align procurement’s negotiation skills with FinOps forecasting. Enterprises that enter negotiations with detailed usage and spend projections secure better discount tiers and predictable costs (CloudTweaks).

  • FinOps + ITAM + Procurement:
    Flexera highlights how unifying FinOps with IT Asset Management and procurement provides real-time insight into technology spend. This leads to improved compliance, optimized licensing costs, and stronger financial governance (Flexera).

Procurement Personas in Action

FinOps reshapes how specific procurement roles operate day to day.

Key Metrics That Change the Game

Procurement needs actionable metrics, not billing dumps. Here are the ones that matter most:

These metrics let procurement walk into renewals or vendor negotiations with data that proves value, or exposes waste.

The Shared Objective: Aligning FinOps and Procurement

When procurement and FinOps align, the outcomes are measurable and lasting:

  • Best rates on cloud contracts, secured through data-driven negotiation.

  • Activity-based costing models that translate billing into business language procurement can use.

  • Transparency across licenses and contracts to stop overspend and support smarter vendor consolidation

Procurement has always had the skills to negotiate. FinOps provides the visibility to make those negotiations sharper, smarter, and more aligned with real business needs.

Looking Ahead

This is just the foundation. Future discussions will dive deeper into topics like:

  • How procurement negotiates enterprise commitments with better data.

  • Vendor management in cloud-heavy environments.

  • Building a repeatable workflow between procurement and FinOps for renewals and negotiations.

The key takeaway for now: procurement and FinOps aren’t parallel tracks. Together, they make sure the math truly adds up.

NEWS
The Burn-Down Bulletin: More Things to Know

WEEKLY MVP

Eric Mulartrick

“Having a Procurement partnership is an underrated aspect of FinOps that isn't talked about enough. Instead of dumping contract purchases over the fence, pull up a chair next to your Procurement professional and work deals together. I find that collaboration - both with procurement AND the third party vendor builds a harmony and long lasting relationship where everyone wins.”

Eric Mulartrick, FinOps Lead

That’s all for this week. See you next Tuesday!

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