FinOps Framework + SOFE

How SOFE implements the 5 pillars of FinOps as code.

The 5 Pillars

FinOps is a practice of bringing financial accountability to cloud spending. SOFE automates it with policies as code.

1. Cost Visibility

Collectors scan AWS resources and fetch metrics (CPU, cost, tags, storage). 18 collectors cover compute, storage, database, networking, AI/ML.

sofe evaluate → shows per-resource cost + utilization

2. Cost Allocation

Tag governance policies enforce that all resources have owner, env, costCenter tags. Untagged resources = unallocated costs.

require-cost-tags.yaml → flags resources missing required tags

3. Cost Optimization

Idle resource detection, rightsizing alerts, lifecycle policies. 12 optimization policies out of the box.

no-idle-ec2.yaml → flags instances with <5% CPU for 30 days

4. Cost Governance

Budget thresholds, approval gates, Not-in-Scope enforcement. Policies define what's acceptable and what triggers alerts.

budget-exceeded.yaml → critical alert when spend > 80% of budget

5. Cost Automation

CI/CD integration (--fail-on), webhook actions, GitHub PR creation. Findings → actions → remediation.

sofe evaluate --fail-on high → blocks deploy if critical findings

SOFE Data Flow

AWS Account
  ↓ (18 collectors scan via boto3)
Resources + Metrics
  ↓ (policy loader reads YAML)
20 Policies (rules + thresholds + severity)
  ↓ (evaluation engine matches scope → checks conditions)
Findings (violations with evidence + savings estimate)
  ↓ (formatters + actions)
Output: table / JSON / markdown / webhook / GitHub PR

Self-Hosted vs SaaS

Self-Hosted (Free Forever)

  • • pip install sofe
  • • Uses your local AWS profile
  • • Run anytime, no limits
  • • Full control, no data leaves your machine

SaaS (platform.sofe.dev)

  • • Sign up → API key → curl api.sofe.dev
  • • No installation needed
  • • History, scheduled evals (Pro)
  • • Free: 10 evals/day
Next: Getting Started →