Complete Guide to Azure Cost Optimization
Master Azure cost management with these proven strategies. Learn how to use Azure Advisor, Reserved Instances, and spot VMs to significantly reduce your cloud spend.
CloudSavvy Team
Cloud Cost Experts
Introduction
Microsoft Azure is the second-largest cloud provider, and like any cloud platform, costs can spiral without proper management. This guide covers comprehensive strategies to optimize your Azure spending.
Understanding Azure Pricing
Before optimizing, understand how Azure charges:
- Compute: VMs, App Services, Functions
- Storage: Blob, Files, Disks
- Networking: Bandwidth, Load Balancers, VPN
- Data Services: SQL Database, Cosmos DB
Key Optimization Strategies
1. Azure Advisor Recommendations
Azure Advisor provides free, personalized recommendations across:
- Cost optimization
- Security
- Reliability
- Performance
- Operational excellence
- Review Advisor weekly
- Implement high-impact recommendations first
- Track savings from implemented changes
2. Azure Reserved Instances
Save up to 72% on VMs with 1 or 3-year commitments.
Best practices:
- Analyze usage patterns for 30+ days
- Start with production workloads
- Consider exchangeability needs
- Monitor utilization post-purchase
3. Azure Spot VMs
Get up to 90% discounts for interruptible workloads:
- Batch processing
- Dev/test environments
- CI/CD pipelines
- Stateless applications
4. Hybrid Benefit
Bring your existing Windows Server and SQL Server licenses to Azure:
- Up to 40% savings on Windows VMs
- Up to 55% savings on SQL Database
- Combine with Reserved Instances for maximum savings
5. Storage Optimization
- Use appropriate storage tiers (Hot, Cool, Archive)
- Implement lifecycle management policies
- Delete orphaned disks and snapshots
- Consider ZRS vs LRS based on requirements
6. Right-size Virtual Machines
Azure provides VM resizing recommendations:
- Review utilization metrics
- Consider B-series for variable workloads
- Use constrained vCPU VMs for license savings
- Implement auto-shutdown for dev environments
Monitoring with CloudSavvy
CloudSavvy integrates with Azure to provide:
- Real-time cost visibility across subscriptions
- Intelligent rightsizing recommendations
- Budget alerts and anomaly detection
- Multi-cloud cost consolidation
Conclusion
Azure cost optimization is an ongoing process. Start with Azure Advisor recommendations, implement Reserved Instances for stable workloads, and maintain visibility with proper monitoring tools.