Managing costs in Azure is a crucial aspect of cloud computing that is often overlooked, yet can have a significant impact on your organization’s bottom line. Recent research shows that 60% of organizations experience higher than expected cloud costs, and according to Flexera, over 30% of cloud budgets can be attributed to cloud waste – in other words, organizations could save nearly one-third of their cloud costs with better cost management practices.

In this blog, we will identify strategies for managing costs in Azure, including optimizing resource utilization, choosing the right pricing models, and implementing cost management tools. By following these best practices, you can effectively control your Azure expenses while still taking advantage of all the benefits of cloud computing.

1. Use the right pricing model: Azure offers several pricing models, including pay-as-you-go, reservation, and hybrid. Choose the model that best suits your needs and usage patterns. For example, if you have a predictable workload, you might consider purchasing reservations to get a discount on your resources. By purchasing a reservation, you can save up to 72% on your virtual machine (VM) costs. Reservations are available for VM instances, SQL Database, and other services. If you have an on-premises Windows Server or SQL Server license, you can use the Azure Hybrid Benefit to save up to 40% on VM costs.
   
2. Use Azure Spot VMs: Spot VMs allow you to bid on unused VM capacity at discounted prices. This can help you save up to 90% on VM costs.
   
3. Right-size your resources: Make sure you are using the appropriate size and type of resources for your workload. Over-provisioning can result in unnecessary costs, while under-provisioning can lead to performance issues. Use Azure’s built-in monitoring tools to track resource usage and adjust your resource allocation accordingly.
   
4. Turn off resources when not in use: If you have resources that are only needed during certain times of the day or week, consider using Azure’s automation tools to shut them down when they are not in use. This can help reduce your overall costs.
   
5. Use managed services: Azure offers a variety of managed services, such as Azure SQL Database and Azure Functions, which can help reduce the overhead of managing and maintaining your own infrastructure.
   
6. Use Azure Cost Management: Azure Cost Management is a suite of tools that can help you track and optimize your Azure spending. It provides visibility into your cost drivers, helps you identify and eliminate wasteful spending, and provides recommendations for cost optimization.
   
7. Use Azure Dev/Test pricing: If you are using Azure for development and testing purposes, you can save up to 33% on VM and other resource costs with the Azure Dev/Test pricing option.
   
8. Use Azure Marketplace: The Azure Marketplace is a collection of third-party software and services that can be purchased and used on the Azure platform. Many of these options can provide cost savings compared to building the same functionality in-house.

Of course, this is only a starting point for better management of Azure costs, and not all of these strategies may apply to your particular Azure environment.

If you are wondering how you can make sure your Azure costs don’t exceed your budget and how to ensure your costs are predictable and optimized, then check out the no cost, no obligation version of Azure Assist. It takes just a few minutes to set up, and Azure Assist delivers visibility into your Azure environment, insight into any changes in spend and optimization strategies specific to your environment. Request more information or get started with Azure Assist by clicking here.

As always, feel free to contact us directly if you have questions or would like to discuss more strategies for getting the most out of your Azure investment.