What does good FinOps look like inside a large engineering organization?

In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Idaliz Baez, Founder and Director of RealOps, who has one of the most fascinating journeys into FinOps — from contamination engineer at NASA to FinOps instructor and leader.

Idaliz has trained more than 200 FinOps practitioners worldwide and brings a unique perspective on how education and awareness can unlock collaboration across engineering, finance, and procurement teams.

We dive into:

• How a NASA engineer found her way into FinOps

• Why focusing only on cost reduction is a common mistake

• How training builds a shared FinOps language across teams

• Why clean data and strong tagging practices are critical to success

• What makes financial concepts harder for engineers to grasp

• When to bring in external trainers vs. build programs in-house

If you're growing your FinOps team, building better collaboration between tech and finance, or just starting your FinOps journey, this episode gives you the mindset and methods to build smarter from day one.

🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://www.finopsinaction.com/

Quote of the Show:

• "A common mistake [I see people make] would be to just focus on reducing cost and to not really think about, ‘Well, what is our cost getting us?’" - Idaliz Baez

Connect with Idaliz:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/idalizbaez/
• Website: https://realops.io

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t
• Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency