Play Sandbox Creatively - Optimize Cost Effectively

1. A Milestone of Global Collaboration (Vietnam x Japan) on Product Engineering.

For the first time, MFV and MFJ united to co-organize a large-scale technical event. This wasn't a "Vietnam-only" or "Japan-only" initiative. It was a truly global environment where cross-bordered teams tackled the same challenges in real-time.

From Vietnam to Japan, the energy was electric. We proved that while we may be separated by thousands of miles, we speak one language: Engineering Excellence.

2. Breaking New Ground: Our First DevOps & FinOps Challenge

While we’ve had many sessions on Backend and Mobile, this marked our first major event dedicated to FinOps culture. At Money Forward, we believe that cost optimization isn't just a "back-office" finance task—it's a core engineering responsibility. In our Product Company culture, being an Engineer means more than writing clean code; it means understanding the practical cloud cost skills to navigate AWS cost visibility tools, resource analysis, and low-risk optimization workflows.

3. The "Sandbox" Freedom: Low Risk, High Gain

We know that on Production, "experimenting" with costs is a big NO. That’s why we partnered with AWS to provide a safe sandbox. 

* The playground: Engineers were encouraged to try the "creative" optimizations they’ve always wondered about. Each team was provided with a realistic but intentionally inefficient architecture and a set of quests covering key FinOps and cost-optimization themes:

• Compute optimization (e.g. instance selection and right-sizing)
• Storage optimization
• Resource cleanup and usage efficiency
• Architectural improvements, including migration scenarios such as Graviton adoption

The Learn: By having the "right to fail" without affecting real customers, our teams gained applicable, hands-on skills in AWS Cost Explorer and resource analysis that they can bring back to their daily work immediately.

4. Growing the product knowledge

The "Product Company" image isn't just about the tech—it's about the people. This event was a perception of our investment in human resources:

• Growth: Learning by doing, not just watching.
• Global Environment: Working alongside peers from MFJ and AWS.
• Flexibility & Trust: Our leadership approved freezing deadlines for the morning because we value long-term innovation over short-term tickets.

If you want to be a product engineer

At Money Forward, we don’t just build apps; we own the start. If you’re a developer who wants to move beyond "following specs" and start owning the solution (and the cost), this is where you belong.