> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.nops.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Inform

> Real-time cloud cost visibility for finance and engineering teams.

# nOps Inform

nOps Inform gives you real-time visibility into costs and usage across teams, applications, and business units—without spreadsheets or manual exports. Get answers quickly, reduce billing surprises, and manage cloud spend with confidence.

## What Inform includes

* **Integrations** — Connect AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, and more. nOps normalizes billing data into a unified view.
* **[Explorer](/inform/explorer)** — Find exactly what you need with rich filters and dimensions built for finance and engineering. Surface hidden costs before they grow—including **heat maps** that compare spend across two dimensions at once.
* **[Reports](/inform/reports)** — Save Explorer views, share them with your team, and schedule email delivery with chart previews and PDF attachments.
* **[Explorer Dashboard](/inform/explorer-dashboard)** — Combine saved reports into dashboards your team can revisit anytime.
* **[Insights](/inform/insights)** — AI-assisted cost-saving recommendations and cost anomaly detection, with estimated savings, effort levels, root-cause detail, and step-by-step implementation guidance.
* **[AI Optimization](/inform/ai-optimization)** — Model usage, spend by platform, optimization recommendations, and anomalies for your AI services in one place.
* **[MAP Manager](/inform/map-manager)** — Track and tag resources for your AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) contracts so you capture every credit you're owed.
* **[Dashboard](/inform/dashboard)** — Your home page: account-wide spend, pinned Canvas charts, and integration health.

Once you're ready to set spend targets, see **[Budgets](/operate/budgets)** under Operate—budgets are built directly from your Explorer reports.

Cost Allocation and shared-cost rules are also part of the broader Inform platform.

## Who Inform helps

### FinOps practitioners

* **Granular cost tracking** — Drill into detailed data for optimization decisions.
* **Organized reporting** — Use saved reports and dashboards for trend analysis and stakeholder updates.
* **Single view** — See spend across clouds and connected services in one place.

### Engineers and managers

* **Operational decisions** — Use actionable spend data to improve workflows and resource use.
* **Team visibility** — Share reports and dashboards so each group sees relevant costs.
* **Faster answers** — Start from [Explorer](https://clara.nops.io/explorer) or ask Clara in Canvas without exporting to spreadsheets.

## Get started

1. Sign in at [clara.nops.io/dashboard](https://clara.nops.io/dashboard).
2. Confirm integrations under **Account Status**, then open **Manage Integrations** in Settings if needed.
3. Open **[Explorer](https://clara.nops.io/explorer)** to analyze spend by service, account, tag, or other dimensions.
4. **Save a report** when you have a view worth keeping.
5. Build an **[Explorer Dashboard](https://clara.nops.io/explorer/dashboard)** from saved reports, or pin Canvas charts on your home **[Dashboard](/inform/dashboard)**.

## Feature guide

| Feature                                          | Sidebar location           | Best for                                                                     |
| ------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Dashboard](/inform/dashboard)                   | Dashboard (top of sidebar) | Daily spend check-in, pinned charts, integration status                      |
| [Explorer](/inform/explorer)                     | Inform → Explorer          | Ad-hoc analysis, filters, charts, and tables                                 |
| [Insights](/inform/insights)                     | Inform → Insights          | Finding and tracking cost-saving opportunities, and reviewing cost anomalies |
| [AI Optimization](/inform/ai-optimization)       | Inform → AI Optimization   | Tracking AI model usage, spend, recommendations, and anomalies               |
| [MAP Manager](/inform/map-manager)               | Inform → MAP Manager       | Tagging and tracking AWS MAP migration credits                               |
| [Reports](/inform/reports)                       | Inform → Reports           | Managing saved views, recommendation schedules, and budget alerts            |
| [Explorer Dashboard](/inform/explorer-dashboard) | Inform → Dashboards        | Team-facing multi-report layouts                                             |
| [Budgets](/operate/budgets)                      | Operate → Budgets          | Setting and tracking spend targets from Explorer reports                     |

## Typical workflows

**Daily standup**

Start on the [Dashboard](/inform/dashboard) **All Spend** section → open **Explorer** if something looks off → share a **Report** link with your team.

**Monthly business review**

Build an [Explorer Dashboard](/inform/explorer-dashboard) with your standard reports → set [scheduled emails](/inform/reports#email-and-schedules) for finance stakeholders.

**Investigate a spike**

Open [Explorer](/inform/explorer) → narrow date range → group by service or account → save as a **Private** report while you investigate → **Share** when ready.

**Optimize and set guardrails**

Check [Insights](/inform/insights) for savings opportunities and cost anomalies → implement or override each recommendation → create a [Budget](/operate/budgets) from your key Explorer reports → add email alerts so you know before you go over.

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I get started with Inform?">
    Log in at clara.nops.io, connect your cloud accounts in Settings, then open Explorer from the Inform section of the sidebar. Data usually appears within 24 to 48 hours after integration is active.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What reports can I create?">
    Any Explorer view can become a report—cost trends, usage breakdowns by tag or service, and custom date ranges. Use nOps Global templates as starting points and duplicate them for your org.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How long before I see data in Explorer?">
    Typically 24 to 48 hours after your integration is active. Spend reflects roughly a 24-hour delay aligned with Cost and Usage Report processing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is the difference between Reports and Explorer Dashboard?">
    **Reports** are individual saved Explorer views. **Explorer Dashboard** displays multiple reports as widgets on one page for ongoing monitoring.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where do pinned widgets on the home Dashboard come from?">
    Pinned widgets can be chart widgets pinned from **Canvas** workspaces, or **Shared**/**nOps Global** Explorer reports pinned from Explorer's **Manage Reports**. Use Explorer Dashboard if you want to combine several Explorer reports into one shared, multi-report layout instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do Insights and Budgets relate to Explorer?">
    Insights surfaces optimization recommendations and cost anomalies independently of Explorer. Budgets, on the other hand, are built directly from an Explorer report—so a budget always shares that report's filters and dimensions.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Explorer" icon="chart-line" href="/inform/explorer">
    Analyze spend with filters and group-by dimensions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Insights" icon="sparkles" href="/inform/insights">
    Find and track cost-saving opportunities and cost anomalies.
  </Card>

  <Card title="AI Optimization" icon="robot" href="/inform/ai-optimization">
    Track AI model usage, spend, recommendations, and anomalies.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MAP Manager" icon="tags" href="/inform/map-manager">
    Tag and track AWS MAP migration credits.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reports" icon="file-chart-column" href="/inform/reports">
    Save views and schedule email delivery.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Explorer Dashboard" icon="objects-column" href="/inform/explorer-dashboard">
    Build team dashboards from saved reports.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Budgets" icon="wallet" href="/operate/budgets">
    Set spend targets and get alerted on overruns.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Dashboard" icon="house" href="/inform/dashboard">
    See All Spend and pinned widgets at a glance.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Need help? Use **Help & Support** in the sidebar to chat with support, email [support@nops.io](mailto:support@nops.io), or browse this documentation.