FOCUS - Updates and a fresh new look

The FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS) is an open specification that defines clear requirements for technology billing data generators to produce consistent cost and usage datasets. At the end of 2025, version 1.3 of the specification was released, along with a fresh new website that makes it easier than ever to learn, test, and implement the specification.

If your variable cost service vendor ( cloud, SaaS, and/or AI) has not yet implemented FOCUS, or is on an earlier version, here are some reasons why you should lobby them to adopt 1.3.

New Contracts Commitments Dataset

If your organization has negotiated commitment (either spend or usage) discounts, you know the headache that can arise when trying to link line items in your billing report to commitments. Reporting on commitments and discount usage is now simplified by this new data set, which links line items to commitments. If this is a major driver of cost controls in your organization, it will change the efforts needed for close management.

New allocation-specific columns let data generators expose how they split costs across workloads. Practitioners can now see the methodology, not just the output.

If you have consolidated cloud resources to optimize cost and utilization, you understand the necessity of creating custom rules and allocations to correctly attribute those costs. If you have shared cloud storage volumes, shared database instances, or run shared infrastructure to support Kubernetes or other container architectures, this is a problem you currently have to develop unique solutions for.

With the addition of the Data Generator-Calculated Split Cost Allocation field and related attribute, the data generator can provide not only details of how usage and cost were split, but also how they were calculated, so you can verify whether they meet your business case needs.

Providers must now timestamp datasets (last-updated metadata) and flag completeness status. You know immediately if the data is final or subject to revision.

If you have ever run a report and then later found out that the data set you used was published before all discounts were calculated, or that the full month is not included, you will rejoice in the addition of these simple fields that let you verify the recency and completeness of a dataset.

These are just the major changes to the specification. To learn more about what is included in the 1.3 release, click over to the official release page for the FOCUS 1.3 specification.

Still trying to wrap your head around what FOCUS is, or how it can be meaningful to you? The newly refreshed FOCUS website provides easy access to the specification, dataset definitions, and use case examples (SQL you can use against your datasets is included). It has also added sections for how FOCUS applies across various scopes and a sandbox where you can test your ideas. Still uncertain how to get rolling? Our certified FOCUS Analysts and FinOps Practitioners can consult to provide you with tools and roadmaps to success.