Rohit Mishra from Avaloq: Driving Value From More Than Just Cost Savings
Why can’t FinOps teams rely on cost savings alone?
In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Rohit Mishra, Head of Cloud FinOps at Avaloq, to challenge the idea that FinOps is only about cost optimization. Drawing from over a decade of experience in cloud infrastructure and capacity management, Rohit explains why cost savings are just the starting point, and how mature FinOps teams drive long-term value by shifting left into architecture, design, and decision-making.
Rohit shares lessons from his early FinOps journey, including what he got wrong when trying to optimize everything alone, and why collaboration across infrastructure, application, finance, and architecture teams is critical to success. He breaks down how speaking the right “language” to each team builds trust, unlocks execution, and accelerates impact.
He also explores how FinOps teams justify their value when cost savings plateau, covering topics like cost allocation, tagging governance, forecasting, and capacity planning. Finally, Rohit offers practical advice for FinOps practitioners at every stage, including why early wins matter, how to earn executive buy-in, and where FinOps as a discipline is still underdeveloped.
Here’s what we talked about:
Why cost optimization is only one piece of Cloud FinOps
What “shifting left” really means and how it prevents cloud waste
How FinOps teams collaborate with architects, engineers, and finance
How to justify FinOps value beyond direct cost savings
Why early wins and low-hanging fruit are critical for management buy-in
Where FinOps is heading as cloud environments grow more complex
Quote of the Show:
“ Shifting left is going to be a very important turning point in how FinOps is perceived amongst different teams and how FinOps is actually done.” - Rohit Mishra
Connect with Rohit:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit-mishra-6aa1bb14b/
Website: https://www.avaloq.com/
In this episode of FinOps in Action, Rohit Mishra, Head of FinOps at Avaloq, explains why cost optimization is only one part of Cloud FinOps and how mature teams create value by shifting left into architecture and design decisions. Rohit shares real-world examples of preventing cloud waste before it happens, earning executive buy-in, and expanding FinOps impact beyond savings into governance, forecasting, and long-term efficiency.