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Cloud Cost Foundations

Read any AWS, GCP, or Azure cloud bill end to end.

Tier
Operator
Modules
6
Lessons
28
Quizzes
6
Time
~5 hours
Your progress
0 of 28 lessons complete0%

6 modules. 28 lessons. 6 quizzes.

M0.1

The cloud bill, decoded

Pull last month's invoice from AWS, GCP, or Azure and explain every dollar on it.

5lessons ·1quiz ·~45 min
L1 What's actually in a cloud bill L2 CUR, Cost Explorer, Cost Management, BigQuery: pick one L3 Granularity vs. timeliness: the trade-off you didn't choose L4 Tags, labels, and the cost-attribution problem L5 The ten cost mistakes that show up on every bill Open module overview →
Q

The cloud bill, decoded: module quiz
M0.2

FinOps Foundation principles

Name the six FinOps principles.

6lessons ·1quiz ·~54 min
L1 The six FinOps principles in one page L2 Inform: what visibility actually means L3 Optimize: the four levers you have L4 Operate: the discipline that beats one-shot wins L5 Crawl, Walk, Run: pick your starting maturity L6 The FOCUS specification, in plain English Open module overview →
Q

FinOps Foundation principles: module quiz
M0.3

Why scheduling beats commitments at non-prod scale

Calculate the theoretical maximum savings of scheduling against commitments.

4lessons ·1quiz ·~38 min
L1 The math: 168 hours, 60-hour workweek, 64% off L2 Commitments: what RIs, SPs, CUDs really save L3 The non-prod fallacy L4 When scheduling wins, when commitments win Open module overview →
Q

Why scheduling beats commitments at non-prod scale: module quiz
M0.4

Rack rate vs. billing cost vs. amortized cost

Distinguish rack rate, billing cost, and amortized cost.

5lessons ·1quiz ·~46 min
L1 What "rack rate" actually means L2 Billing cost: and why it's lower than rack rate L3 Amortized cost: Azure's gotcha L4 The two-source cost model L5 Currency, FX, and the date-specific exchange rate Open module overview →
Q

Rack rate vs. billing cost vs. amortized cost: module quiz
M0.5

Multi-cloud taxonomy

Recognize the top cost-printing services on AWS, GCP, and Azure.

4lessons ·1quiz ·~40 min
L1 AWS cost surface: services that print money L2 GCP cost surface: quirks and gotchas L3 Azure cost surface: reservations, hybrid benefit, deallocate-vs-stop L4 Multi-cloud governance: the bare-minimum architecture Open module overview →
Q

Multi-cloud taxonomy: module quiz
M0.6

Introducing CDCR

Define CDCR: Continuous Detect, Continuous Remediation.

4lessons ·1quiz ·~40 min
L1 "Detect and act": what CDCR means L2 The cost of detect-only: case study L3 Read-only safety: where it matters, where it doesn't L4 What CDCR is NOT: the boundaries Open module overview →
Q

Introducing CDCR: module quiz

Start with the bill.

Foundations takes about five hours. The first lesson is nine minutes.

Open curriculum. No login. No paywall. 290 lessons across 7 courses, three publicly verifiable credentials. Read it on the train, take the exam on a Saturday, list the credential on your résumé Monday.

Read Foundations →See the Credentials →
5h median time to finish Foundations
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open curriculum, public credential verifier
Multi-cloud automation· Production-ready in 30 min· SOC 2 · ISO 27001· 20–60% off the bill, first month· 4 platforms · 1 console· Multi-cloud automation· Production-ready in 30 min· SOC 2 · ISO 27001· 20–60% off the bill, first month· 4 platforms · 1 console·