Virtual Tags

Overview

Managing and allocating native tagging systems from various cloud technologies can be complex and frustrating. Inconsistent tags across platforms, like an AWS resource labeled "Team A" corresponding to "Team Alpha" in Snowflake, lead to confusion and inefficiency. Additionally, native tagging lacks retroactive application, leaving historical data fragmented and obscured.

Finout's Virtual Tag feature addresses these challenges with a dynamic, real-time cost allocation solution. Virtual Tags offer a coherent and unified view, enabling the consolidation and analysis of costs across all cloud providers and services. Leveraging advanced filters allows you to segment your cost data into specific segments, creating a structured and comprehensive financial overview without modifying original resource labels. Tailored rules within each Virtual Tag refine cost visualization and management, streamlining how you manage your cloud spending.

A Virtual Tag acts like a funnel from the top down, and each rule further filters the data received after the preceding rule is run.

For example, with Virtual Tags, you can view the costs associated with logical categories:

• AWS and Kubernetes are used for different environments, such as development versus production.

• Snowflake queries for Data Team 1 versus Data Team 2.

• Snowflake, Kubernetes, and the cloud providers (such as AWS and GCP) for the Application, Backend, Data, and Analytics groups.

• You can even use Virtual Tags based on other Virtual Tags. So you can aggregate all Data Team's different Virtual Tags together to allocate the entire Data group cost.

Note: Finout also supports Relational Virtual Tags that enable the breakdown of shared infrastructure costs across multiple dimensions from a single telemetry while preserving the relationships between them. See Relational Virtual Tags for more details.

What is the structure of a virtual tag?

• A virtual tag is made up of rules.

• A rule defines a condition based on the values (#2) of a specific key (#1).

• This rule is then allocated to a Custom value or a MegaBill key(#3) .

Types of Virtual Tags

• Custom Virtual Tags

• Finout Virtual Tags

• AI Virtual Tags

• Relational Virtual Tags

Virtual Tag Shared Cost Reallocation

Building upon this foundation, Finout takes it a step further with the Shared Cost Reallocation. The reallocation of Virtual Tags enhances the granularity of cost allocation, enabling a more refined reallocation of shared expenses. Finout’s Shared Cost Reallocation not only addresses the direct challenges of shared cost management but also promotes a deeper understanding of cloud expenditure patterns, allowing you to make more informed financial decisions and strategic planning.

Note: Virtual tags with relocation are not available in the raw data.

Finout offers practical strategies for shared cost reallocation:

• Telemetric based reallocation

• Customized cost reallocation