In the world of FinOps, where Cloud Cost Management and Optimization is paramount, identifying the ownership of specific resources stands out as one of the most formidable challenges.

The Challenge of Ownership

Imagine a scenario where multiple teams and members are using various resources within the cloud. Without proper tracking, it’s nearly impossible to understand who is responsible for what, leading to inefficiency, lack of accountability, and spiraling costs.

The market is flooded with tools that can generate substantial saving opportunities. However, when ownership is missing, questions arise like who will implement these recommendations? How can we verify if these recommendations are true? Often, the FinOps team is stuck, unable to act on these cost-saving measures because they don’t know how to find the ownership of the resource that should be handled.

Best practices in FinOps advocate the use of specific tags like ‘createdby’ or ‘owner.’ These tags offer a clear line of sight to the responsible party for any given resource, such as an EC2 instance, facilitating cost tracking and ensuring proper governance.

How can I handle — untagged resources

Now that we understand why it’s so important to add the owner tag, the question is: how can I handle a situation where I have hundreds of untagged resources? How can I find the owner of the resource?

Extract owner from CloudTrail

CloudTrail is an audit service log that can help customers track activity in their account. You can find the event of creating the resource, extract the username that created the resource, and then add the tag owner to the resource.

Here is an example of a CLI command that can find the event:

aws cloudtrail lookup-events --lookup-attributes AttributeKey=ResourceName,AttributeValue=INSTANCE_ID --query "Events[?EventName=='RunInstances']" --region us-east-1

Cases that can be a little bit more challenging (EBS)

With Elastic Block Store (EBS), things get more complicated. If an EBS is created via an EC2 instance, you’ll need to find one event type (RunInstances).

If it’s without an EC2, it’s a different event altogether (CreateVolume). This complexity requires a nuanced approach to track and manage the resources effectively.

Real-time Governance with CloudTrail

CloudTrail is a real-time events service, and it can be a game-changer by listening and finding resources that were created without specific tags, and then tagging them appropriately. By automating this process, you can ensure that all resources are tagged as they are created, keeping your governance structure robust and reactive.

Automate with Wiv: Your Partner in FinOps

In the intricate labyrinth of FinOps, finding a streamlined path is essential. But what if there was an even simpler way to navigate all of this? Meet Wiv, our cloud-native No Code Drag & Drop Workflow Automation platform, tailor-made for FinOps and operations teams. Wiv is not just a tool; it’s a solution, a way to make complex processes feel effortlessly simple.

With Wiv, you can:

  1. Automate the Tagging Process: No more manual tracking or complicated coding. With predefined workflows, Wiv understands how to find the owner in CloudTrail and automatically tag your resource, even in intricate cases like EBS. It’s about making what’s complex simple.
  2. Real-time Response with CloudTrail Events: Wiv listens to CloudTrail, reacting in real-time to add tags, avoiding the risk of unmanaged resources. It’s like having a vigilant watchdog ensuring everything is in its right place.
  3. End-to-End FinOps Automation: From executing recommendations to enforcing governance, handling alerts, managing commitments, and so much more, Wiv is here to handle every aspect of your FinOps process. And the best part? You can do all this without writing a single line of code!

By leveraging Wiv’s capabilities, the challenges of resource ownership tracking become stepping stones to a more streamlined, cost-effective cloud operation. Wiv is not just about automation; it’s about intelligent automation that understands your needs, adapts to your challenges, and helps you conquer your cloud management goals. Let Wiv be your guide, your ally, in the ever-evolving world of FinOps.

Conclusion

The challenge of identifying ownership in FinOps doesn’t have to be a roadblock. By embracing best practices like tagging, using tools like CloudTrail, and leveraging automation platforms like Wiv, you can conquer this obstacle. Wiv’s intelligent automation helps you navigate even the most complex scenarios, ensuring that your resources are always managed efficiently. Let Wiv help you automate your everyday FinOps tasks, and take your cloud cost management to the next level.