How is waste defined in FinOps context?

• A. Data egress costs
• B. Any unused resource
• C. Overprovisioned CPU
• D. Any paid usage that could have been avoided by resizing or reducing resources

Answer: (D)

Waste in FinOps means any paid cloud usage that could have been avoided by resizing or reducing resources. It focuses on inefficiencies from provisioning more capacity than needed or keeping resources running when there’s no demand. When you rightsize instances, scale down during low usage, shut off idle resources, or otherwise adjust capacity to match actual demand, you eliminate waste. Data egress costs are a distinct charge type and aren’t waste by definition, while overprovisioned CPU is a common source of waste but is encompassed by the broader idea of any avoidable paid usage.