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Glossary of Terms

In the evolving discipline of FinOps, there are sometimes different terms used to describe the same concept, or permutations of the same topic. Here you will find definitions for various terms used in the Vega Platform.

For general FinOps terminology, the FinOps Foundation maintains a comprehensive list at https://www.finops.org/resource/terminology/

Cloud Billing Account​

A "Cloud Billing Account" refers to the top-tier financial management entity within a cloud service provider's architecture. A Cloud Billing Account, regardless of the specific provider terminology, is the principal entity responsible for payment and financial management in a cloud service hierarchy. It aggregates costs from its associated operational entities and is accountable for settling the accumulated charges.

For instance, within the context of Amazon Web Services (AWS), a Cloud Billing Account is termed a "Master Payer Account" in the AWS Organizations service. This Master Payer Account is liable for all costs incurred by the child or "Linked" Accounts. It collects the costs of all member accounts, and it is at this level that payment is consolidated and made.

In Microsoft Azure's framework, a Cloud Billing Account is called a "Billing Account." This Billing Account establishes the financial relationship between the customer and Azure services. The Billing Account is the accountable entity for paying all charges incurred through Azure service consumption, associated with underlying "Subscriptions."

Similarly, in Google Cloud Platform (GCP), the Cloud Billing Account concept is known as a "Billing Account." The Billing Account is associated with one or more "Projects" and holds financial responsibility for the costs of resource usage associated with those projects.

Net Fiscal​

Vega Cloud applies enterprise discount rates, private pricing, credits, and taxes along with amortized committed use discounts, enterprise support fees, and Marketplace purchases (etc.) to calculate a "net fiscal" amount in the platform.

Enterprise Scheduling​

Enterprise Scheduling, also referred to as parking, auto-parking, instance scheduling, start/stop, etc is a solution for cost optimization where cloud resources are shutdown on a schedule when they are not in use.