The financial industry has been a major source of new technologies and business-driven strategies. Possibilities multiply with artificial intelligence, cloud computing, microservices, Open Finance, blockchain, event-driven architectures, and many other innovations.
But there is a question that few organizations examine in depth:
How can you sustain innovation without compromising efficiency, governance, and financial results?
This is where FinOps becomes a strategic discipline.
In a recent episode of NT Talks Learning Sessions with Moisés Lós, IT Leader at F1RST (Santander Group), we talked about his experience leading global teams in one of the most regulated and complex environments in the market.
The conversation revealed a fundamental truth: innovation without financial governance does not scale.
Listen to the full episode here (in Portuguese):
FinOps is about maturity
There is a common misconception when it comes to FinOps.
Many people associate the topic only with reducing cloud spending. But in practice, FinOps is a governance model that connects engineering, architecture, finance, and business strategy.
There is no “minimum maturity level” required to start. On the contrary, the earlier the discipline is introduced in the organization, the greater the ability to evolve with predictability.
The goal is to get more sophisticated questions, such as:
- How much does each feature of my business cost?
- What is the real cost of an API exposed in Open Banking?
- How much does the balance-inquiry journey impact my monthly infrastructure?
That level of clarity turns technical decisions into strategic decisions.
When engineering is influenced by financial decisions
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation was the story about refactoring architecture for financial reasons.
We are talking about microservices being redesigned because certain low-usage features were “tied” to high-cost structures. The decision was clear: separate services, reorganize dependencies, and redefine infrastructure consumption.
The result?
A more efficient and financially sustainable architecture.
This changes the role of the software engineer. Today, delivering functional code is no longer enough. It is necessary to understand the financial impact, resource consumption and the business model.
Engineering is no longer just technical. It has become strategic.
FinOps and AI in regulated environments
The use of artificial intelligence in highly regulated environments is extremely relevant when the topic is efficiency with governance.
According to data from the International State of FinOps 2026 report (FinOps Foundation)¹, FinOps for AI is the top priority for the future. Managing AI costs is the number one skill teams need to develop.
According to the same report, many organizations say they were asked to self-fund AI investments through savings from optimization, directly linking traditional FinOps work to strategic technology enablement.
The agenda is twofold: managing AI spend and applying AI to improve FinOps team productivity and the value of AI initiatives.
In this scenario, innovation does not start by asking “what does the technology allow us to do?”.
It starts by asking:
What am I not allowed to do?
From that regulatory boundary, you build a safe space for innovation.
This logic prevents the mistake many companies made in their cloud migration: adopting technology without a governance model, resulting in unexpected costs and operational risks.
With AI, the principle is the same. It can and should be used as an accelerator, including in FinOps maturity models, but always surrounded by controls, audit trails, and human review when needed.
Source¹: State of FinOps 2026 Report
Scenario insight: Innovation with responsibility – Brazilian maturity
One interesting point raised was the maturity of teams in Brazil.
The Brazilian financial system is globally recognized for its robustness and security. This creates a culture of more rigorous risk analysis.
Instead of adopting technology driven by the excitement of the moment, the usual approach is:
- Understand regulatory risk
- Assess financial impact
- Ensure compliance with regulations
- Innovate with control
When these requirements are met, the space for innovation expands in a consistent way. This combination of boldness and responsibility is what allows digital transformation to scale without compromising stability.
FinOps as a strategic discipline for the coming Years
FinOps is not a new topic. Financial management has always existed. What has changed is the scale.
Cloud, microservices and distributed architectures have made cost visibility more complex. And without visibility, there is no governance.
In the coming years, we will see a clear evolution:
- Greater integration between FinOps and enterprise architecture
- Growing use of AI as an accelerator for maturity assessments
- Architectural decisions guided by cost per feature
- Engineering increasingly oriented toward business value
Organizations that embed FinOps as a strategic discipline will be prepared to sustain innovation continuously.
Sustaining innovation requires more than technology
Technology is not the end. It is the means.
What sustains innovation in the financial sector is the combination of:
- Governance
- Conscious engineering
- Effective communication
- Business vision
- Continuous improvement
Innovating is important. Sustaining innovation is strategic.
And in this context, FinOps stops being an operational practice and becomes a structural pillar for organizations that want to grow with responsibility and scale.
If this topic is on your radar, send us a message and let’s talk about how we can support your business.
