About Demandbase
Demandbase is the leading account-based GTM platform for B2B enterprises to identify and target the right customers, at the right time, with the right message. With a unified view of intent data, AI-powered insights, and prescriptive actions, go-to-market teams can seamlessly align their strategies and execute them with confidence. To learn how Demandbase can help you scale your GTM strategy, visit www.demandbase.com.
“Finout empowers us to make data-driven decisions with confidence and gives us the visibility we need to optimize cloud costs across our entire infrastructure.”
Micheal Waltz | Senior Manager Cloud Engineering
The Challenge
Demandbase faced mounting challenges in managing cloud costs across its multi-cloud environment, including AWS, GCP, Snowflake, and Datadog. Their previous cloud cost management solution required manual configurations for account integration, lacked automatic onboarding, and offered limited usability with a steep learning curve for dashboards.
Teams also struggled to save queries, configure cost anomaly alerts, and manage Kubernetes spending efficiently, relying on 3rd party tools like KubeCost. This fragmented approach made it difficult to centralize cost data, collaborate across finance, engineering, and executive teams, and provide consistent visibility.
Additionally, Demandbase needed improved forecasting and annotation capabilities to streamline cost analysis and reduce repetitive inquiries, highlighting the need for a more unified, intuitive, and scalable FinOps solution.
“We needed a solution that could not only automate cloud cost tracking but also empower teams to monitor costs themselves without relying on CCoE for every query.”
Gaurang Mavadiya, | Principal DevOps Engineer
Why Finout
After evaluating various solutions, Demandbase selected Finout for its robust cloud financial management capabilities and ease of integration with its AWS, GCP and Kubernetes infrastructure. Key factors in their decision included:
- Advanced Cost Allocation: Finout’s Virtual Tagging feature enabled precise and instant allocation of cloud costs across departments, environments and projects, allowing the team to track and optimize cloud spend with greater clarity and in an expedited manner.
- Cost Monitoring and Accurate Forecasting: Weekly cloud spend reviews enabled teams to track and analyze cost fluctuations in near real-time. Finout’s dashboards, featuring tools like the average daily cost widget, enabled linear forecasting, providing monthly spend forecasts with 90% accuracy.
- Rate Optimization and Commitment Tracking: Using Finout’s cost optimizer and financial planning features, Demandbase conducts bi-weekly reviews to optimize reserved instance allocations and monitor AWS and GCP contract commitments. These insights ensure infrastructure and marketplace spending align with their strategic goals, including adjustments to maintain commitments across clouds.
- Intuitive and Custom Dashboards: Teams can now easily build dashboards, saving views and queries to create actionable reports without a steep learning curve. This has led to increased adoption across the organization.
- Anomaly Detection and Alerts for Proactive Cost Optimization: By preemptively identifying unexpected cost spikes, Demandbase could take corrective action before they escalate, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars saved.
“What sets Finout apart is its ability to give teams control over their own cost monitoring, allowing us to focus on strategic growth while ensuring our cloud spend remains in check.”
Micheal Waltz | Senior Manager Cloud Engineering
The Result
Cost Allocation
Finout’s Virtual Tags enabled Demandbase to allocate more than 90% of its cloud spending across cost centers and environments. This was noteworthy in reducing manual reporting and ensuring that every dollar was tracked accurately. Teams can now independently generate reports and dashboards, allowing finance and procurement teams to focus on strategy rather than data entry.
Cost Savings
With Finout’s anomaly detection, Demandbase was able to identify inefficiencies, such as unnecessary services running in their Kubernetes clusters, leading to significant cost savings. By proactively addressing these inefficiencies, they reduced their monthly cloud bill and improved forecasting accuracy.
“Finout allows us to act on cost-saving opportunities faster. We were able to identify and resolve inefficiencies faster, thanks to Finout’s near real-time insights.”
Gaurang Mavadiya, | Principal DevOps Engineer
Time Efficiency
Before implementing Finout, the team spent hours compiling and updating spreadsheets for cloud cost analysis. With Finout’s automated data pulls and intuitive dashboards, weekly reports were created faster, cutting time by 90% and giving teams more time to focus on strategic initiatives.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
With custom dashboards tailored to finance and engineering, all teams operate with a unified view of cloud spend. Non-engineering teams, such as accounts payable and procurement, leverage Finout’s Data Explorer to consolidate COGS and OPEX reports, simplifying data extraction and reducing dependency on technical teams.
“Now, everyone in the organization has access to the same accurate data, drastically reducing friction between departments and improving our ability to collaborate.”
Gaurang Mavadiya, | Principal DevOps Engineer
Ongoing Partnership and Looking Ahead
Demandbase’s relationship with Finout continues to grow as it explores new opportunities to enhance its cloud financial operations. As a member of Finout’s customer advisory board, Demandbase is actively collaborating with Finout to fine-tune its anomaly detection features and customizable dashboard views.
“Finout isn’t just a tool; it’s a strategic partner. The ongoing support and customization options are invaluable as we continue to refine our cloud strategy.”
Micheal Waltz | Senior Manager Cloud Engineering
