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Dynamics Matters Podcast Ep 117: How to optimise your Azure spend
With special guest Amar Bilas, ISM Practice Lead, HSO
In this episode, we discuss:
✔ Why organisations struggle to monitor Azure consumption
✔ 3 strategies for reducing Azure spend
✔ Azure ownership, visibility, and control
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SoundCloud Cloud computing has revolutionised the way organisations operate by providing access to cutting-edge technology. However, this access comes with a price, and many organisations end up paying more than necessary for the services they consume. As usage increases, it becomes challenging to track consumption, leading to spiralling costs.
Why organisations struggle to monitor Azure consumption
Organisations often struggle to stay on top of their Azure consumption due to a lack of awareness and understanding of the costs associated with cloud services. Technical personnel, who are often responsible for provisioning and managing these services, may not prioritise cost management, focusing instead on delivering or fixing business problems.
Additionally, the ease of access to enterprise-grade technology in Azure can lead to overprovisioning and unnecessary spending, as organisations may not have the necessary controls and visibility to monitor and optimise their usage. This lack of control and framework around spending can result in spiralling costs, making it challenging for organisations to stay on top of their Azure consumption.
3 strategies for reducing Azure spend
HSO Head of Infrastructure, Security, and Modern Workplace, Amar Bilas, an expert in the field, suggests several simple strategies to prevent unnecessary spending. He emphasises the importance of planning and control at all levels of an organisation, from technical personnel to senior management. This includes driving efficiency, putting controls in place, and ensuring that the technology solutions meet the evolving needs of the business.
Three key tips for how organisations can reduce their Azure spend are:
Establish budget controls
Set limits on spending and track alerts to ensure that the budget is not exceeded. This involves having control and visibility over the spending, which is the responsibility of everyone in the organisation.
Right-sizing
Optimise the usage of resources by ensuring that virtual machines are running at an appropriate level of CPU usage, tracking metrics for usage, and regularly reviewing the environment to identify areas where resources are over-provisioned.
Educate and control
Implement a framework and guardrails to prevent unnecessary spending. This involves educating everyone involved in the process, from technical personnel to C-level executives, about the importance of controlling costs and driving efficiency.
These tips can help organisations effectively manage their Azure spend and prevent unnecessary costs from spiraling out of control.
Join our upcoming webinar to learn how to optimise your Azure costs.
This 45-minute Azure cost optimisation webinar reveals how to reduce your Azure spending whilst increasing the value it delivers.
Azure ownership, visibility, and control
One key aspect of controlling costs in cloud computing is understanding where the spending is happening. This requires someone to take responsibility for monitoring usage and ensuring that only necessary resources are being utilised. For example, when spinning up a service, it's crucial to delete everything once it's no longer needed to avoid incurring unnecessary charges.
Amar also highlights the significance of right-sizing the environment, particularly in the context of public cloud services. This involves paying for what is used and avoiding over-provisioning, which can lead to paying for resources that are not being used effectively.
Furthermore, having control and visibility over spending is essential for all stakeholders involved in the use of cloud services. This includes technical personnel who need to be mindful of the resources they deploy and ensure that unnecessary components are deleted to avoid incurring additional costs.
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Balancing the benefits of Azure with your budget
Organisations, both large and small, use Azure for a variety of purposes, including storage, networking, analytics, and access to enterprise-grade technology. Azure provides access to the latest and most innovative technology, allowing businesses to secure their operations, track usage, and plan for future growth. Additionally, Azure offers the capability to spin up and provision resources as needed, providing flexibility and scalability for businesses of all sizes. This said, without the right controls in place, the cost of these services can quickly escalate.
Organisations need a clear understanding of their cloud spending and to implement central management controls to prevent unnecessary costs. By following these recommendations, organisations can optimise their cloud usage, reduce expenses, and ensure that they are using resources efficiently.