Reducing Azure Costs: A Guide for Optimizing Your Cloud Spending

Hello everyone, today we will outline some tips and best practices to help you reduce your Azure costs. Eish! With the way things are in the world, with a somewhat global depression, it’s always better to save as much money as you can, by following these recommendations, you can minimize your cloud spending, while still getting access to the services and features you need.

As organizations continue to adopt cloud computing, Azure has emerged as one of the leading platforms for businesses of all sizes. However, with so many different services and features available, it’s easy to rack up high costs without even realizing it. To ensure that you’re getting the most value from your Azure investment, it’s important to understand how to reduce your Azure costs and optimize your cloud spending.

List of ways you can reduce cost on Azure

Use Azure’s Cost Management and Billing Dashboard

• The first step to reducing your Azure costs is to understand what you’re spending money on. Azure’s Cost Management and Billing Dashboard provides detailed information about your cloud spending, including how much you’re spending on specific services, which services are generating the most costs, and how your spending is trending over time. With this information, you can make informed decisions about how to optimize your cloud spending.
• You can check our guide on how to use Azure tools like Azure Advisor and Azure Migrate to help you when you are migrating to the cloud.

Choose the Right Service Tier

• Azure offers several different service tiers, each with its own pricing model. For example, Azures’ standard tier is more expensive than its basic tier, but it also provides more features and better performance. By choosing the right service tier for your needs, you can reduce your Azure costs while still getting the features and performance you need.

Take Advantage of Azure Reservations

• Azure Reservations allow you to reserve capacity for specific services, such as virtual machines, at a reduced cost. By reserving capacity, you can lock in lower prices for up to three years and reduce your Azure costs over time. This is especially helpful for organizations that have predictable usage patterns, as it allows you to secure lower prices for the services you know you’ll be using in the future.

Turn Off Unused Services

• It’s easy to forget about services that you’re no longer using, but they can still be generating costs. To reduce your Azure costs, make sure to turn off any services that you’re not using, such as virtual machines, databases, and storage accounts. This will not only reduce your Azure costs but also help you maintain a clean and organized cloud environment.

Use Azure Dev/Test Pricing

• If you’re using Azure for development or testing, you can take advantage of Azure Dev/Test Pricing, which provides discounts on a variety of services. By using Azure Dev/Test Pricing, you can reduce your Azure costs while still getting access to the services you need for your development and testing efforts. This is an excellent way to save money on your cloud computing costs while still getting the resources you need to drive your projects forward.

Monitor Your Spending

• Finally, it’s important to monitor your Azure spending on a regular basis to ensure that you’re staying within your budget. By using Azure’s Cost Management and Billing Dashboard, you can see how your spending is trending over time and make changes to reduce your costs as needed. This will help you identify any areas where you may be overspending and make adjustments to bring your costs under control.

Video of how to reduce Azure costs

I hope this quick guide has and will help you in reducing your Azure costs. By optimizing your cloud spending, you can ensure that you’re getting the most value from your Azure investment. Whether you’re a small business just starting out or a large enterprise with complex cloud requirements, these tips will help you minimize your Azure costs and maximize your return on investment(s). If you enjoyed this guide, I recommend you check out our beginner’s guide to Azure’s Cognitive Search.