AWS Brings FOCUS 1.2 Data Exports to General Availability: Why It Matters for FinOps & ITAM Teams
Cloud cost management continues to evolve rapidly and FinOps & ITAM practitioners are increasingly looking for consistent, reliable data to manage spend across cloud and SaaS. With AWS now officially supporting FinOps FOCUS 1.2 as a native data-export format, the cloud ecosystem takes an important step toward better standardisation.
FinOps in a nutshell
FinOps is the operational discipline (championed by the FinOps Foundation) that brings financial accountability to cloud spend. It blends engineering, finance and business teams around a shared goal: making data-driven decisions that optimise cost and maximise business value. For ITAM teams, FinOps aligns naturally with asset and licence governance.
What is FOCUS?
FOCUS (FinOps Open Cost & Usage Specification) is an open standard created to unify cost and usage data across clouds and SaaS providers. Instead of each vendor using its own naming, columns and structures, FOCUS defines a common schema so organisations can analyse and compare data without heavy transformation work.
Version 1.2 expands the schema beyond IaaS:
- Adds support for SaaS and PaaS billing
- Introduces invoice-level identifiers
- Includes more metadata for reservations, discounts and SKU metering
What AWS just announced
AWS has now made FOCUS 1.2 data exports generally available directly inside the Billing & Cost Management console (for more information, please read this article: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws-cloud-financial-management/data-exports-for-focus-1-2-is-now-generally-available/). Customers can now generate AWS cost and usage datasets already formatted in the FOCUS 1.2 schema, reducing custom mapping and simplifying integration with reporting tools or multi-cloud FinOps pipelines.
The new export introduces 14 additional data fields—such as invoice IDs, reservation details and virtual-currency pricing—along with support for hourly, daily and monthly granularity. AWS recommends running FOCUS 1.0 and 1.2 in parallel during a transition period.
Why this matters for FinOps & ITAM practitioners
The new AWS export gives FinOps and ITAM teams a more consistent way to combine AWS data with Azure, GCP and SaaS provider exports. It improves reconciliation, accelerates reporting, and reduces data-wrangling. Especially across diverse regions, currencies and regulatory environments.
Final thoughts
The introduction of FOCUS 1.2 support by AWS strengthens the industry’s shift toward standardised, interoperable cost data. And at Noventiq, we see this as a natural continuation of what we have been doing for more than 15 years in IT Asset Management. Recently someone told me: “FinOps is basically ITAM with better marketing.” A light joke, but the overlap is real.
If your organisation is looking to get more control over cloud spend, streamline reporting or accelerate its FinOps maturity, Noventiq can help you get there faster and with less risk. We guide customers through the full FinOps journey. From establishing governance to embedding processes with engineering and finance teams. Most importantly, we begin with a FinOps Assessment to quickly identify savings, strengths, gaps and the most impactful next steps.
Ready to turn FinOps into real business value?
Get in touch with us, and let’s together build a FinOps capability that delivers clarity, efficiency and measurable financial outcomes.
