G04 — Allocation

• Publisher: FinOps Foundation
• Primary source: Allocation
• Observed: 2026-10-22 (Europe/Berlin session date)
• Publication date: unknown — no reliable date established from the read
• Updated date: unknown — no reliable date established from the read
• Read status: opened and relevant section read through web tool
• Evidence locator: Definition; Shared Cost Strategy, paragraphs beginning Many early FinOps practices and Allocation of shared costs
• Evidence class: primary maintainer/provider guidance; not an independent impact study

Short evidence fragment

Choose for each shared cost what kind of allocation policy generates the best value for the organization.

Researcher’s reading note

Direct ownership, metadata and shared-cost rules are separate design choices. Centrally budgeted shared costs can be an explicit policy; fixed, proportional and proxy-based allocation are alternatives.

Limits and use

Allocation is a management policy and may not measure avoidable marginal cost. More precision is not automatically more useful.

Retention

This card preserves a short evidence fragment and an original reading note; full source text is not copied. FinOps/FOCUS adaptations should credit the FinOps Foundation / FOCUS as applicable (their pages state CC BY 4.0). Re-open mutable documentation before implementing controls.