Cloud-based systems and networks are the future – there’s no doubt about that. Microsoft Azure is one of the most widely-used platforms out there. It provides a wide range of cloud-based computing services, including virtual machines, web applications, storage solutions and data analytics tools. Azure allows businesses and individuals to create, manage and deploy applications and services through Microsoft’s global network of data centres. It is widely used for building, deploying and managing applications and services in a secure and scalable environment.
But, when not managed intricately, it can become quite expensive. As such, we’ve put together a few tips and tricks on this page. Use them to increase your efficiency and optimise Azure costs.
Use reserved instances (for Virtual Machines)
Microsoft Azure Reserved Instances (RIs) allow you to commit up front for a more specific compute capacity. It’ll be set to a particular region, and you’ll be tied in for the duration of the contract. You can still pay monthly if you wish.
The longer your contract, the greater the discount you’ll get. Of course, it’s best to balance this with the likely cost changes over the next few years.
Use minimum monthly commitment tiers where applicable
For some products in Azure, you’ll be able to use one of a range of monthly commitment tiers. These provide better pricing that the pay-as-you-go pricing provided you commit to the usage in advance. In other words, don’t pay extra for something you know you won’t use. For example, this has significant impact on the price paid for Log Analytics and Sentinel, etc.
Understand what you’re spending by regularly visiting the Azure Cost Management tool
The Azure Cost Management tool is a free built-in Azure dashboard to track how much you’re spending across your subscriptions. We strongly recommend getting familiar with what the tool shows because it compiles all your data into one place. Further down the line, this becomes incredibly useful.
Delete what you don’t use
What you are using in Azure will constantly change. That’s the nature of ICT. As a result, you’ll inevitably end up with resources you are paying for that you no longer use.
Make it a habit to inspect the different resource types and check which are not in use. By deleting unused resources, such as Virtual Machines, or storage you’ll be able to cut costs.
Rightsize virtual machines
Rightsizing your Azure VMs, instances, and volumes is essentially manual scaling. It’s a process involving analysing the usage and performance of each.
If you identify any that aren’t running effectively, you have a choice of three modifications: upgrading, downgrading or terminating.
Applying this across your entire environment results in a much more cost-effective Azure plan.
Use Azure automation tools
Azure’s automation and machine learning is one of its most significant selling points. You’ll come across the word ‘scalable’ on many occasions.
For example, you can configure Azure to automatically shut down VMs when they aren’t in use, meaning you don’t need to go through your resources manually. They’ll also automatically rightsize and scale based on resource demand, and so on.
It’s important to note, though, that if you use a Reserved Instance on particular VM, you’ll continue to pay even if its shutdown… so this is only really of benefit in dev environments for short term use where you aren’t likely to utilise a RI.
Utilising these automation tools means you always pay for only what you’re using – which is vital when you’re looking to save money.
Leverage Azure Spot VMs
If some parts of your Azure network can handle interruptions, Spot VMs might be a way forward.
Spot VMs are virtual machines that are available at a significantly reduced cost compared to regular VMs. The catch is, they can be evicted by Microsoft at any time if Azure needs the capacity for other workloads.
Azure Spot VMs are useful for workloads that can tolerate interruptions, such as batch processing jobs, testing and development environments, and other non-critical tasks. The cost savings can be significant, up to 90% lower than regular VM pricing in some cases.
They can be used with most Azure services and can be deployed in any Azure region. You can also use Azure Spot VMs with Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets to automatically scale your applications up and down based on demand.
While they are a cost-effective option for certain types of workloads, you should carefully consider your application’s requirements and tolerance for interruptions before deciding to use them. For example, it may be better to run the service on a burstable VM. Or, if the service is needed only occasionally on-demand, it might be better as a logic app or function app.
Choose suitable storage options
Choosing the right Azure storage options will help you cut costs. Your choices (so far as blob storage goes) include the following:
- Hot – data in active use that’s regularly accessed
- Cool – infrequently accessed data (but still needed relatively regularly)
- Archive – rarely accessed data
Note that hot, cool and archive data storage can exist side by side. Get these storage options right for each file, and you’ll see notable cost reductions due to increased efficiency.
Use serverless computing
Serverless computing is contracting the back-end management of the servers themselves to another company (in this case, Microsoft). It allows users to build and run applications and services without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. With Azure Serverless computing, you pay for only the actual usage of the application or service, rather than for a fixed amount of infrastructure resources.
One of the key benefits of Azure Serverless computing is its ability to support event-driven computing. The application or service is triggered by specific events, such as an incoming message or a user action, rather than being constantly active. This allows for efficient use of resources and reduces costs.
Overall, Azure Serverless computing provides a highly scalable, cost-effective, and flexible option for building and deploying applications and services in the cloud.
The word ‘serverless’ isn’t technically correct – all cloud-based systems need servers. But, you won’t have to worry about them. By reducing your costs in this way, you can save a significant sum of money on maintenance.
Don’t go looking in Azure though for a service called “Serverless Compute” as you won’t find one – Azure has a range of services that fall into this category including function apps, logic apps, Kubernetes, Azure SQL, App Service etc. What they all have in common is that you don’t take responsibility for managing the underlying server.
Let AMDH Services help
Microsoft Azure isn’t the simplest platform you’ll ever come across. However, a good understanding of it is vital to make the most of your cloud-based networks.
Here at AMDH Services, our team of expert consultants partners with organisations of all sizes. Whether you’re an SME, church, charity or work in the public sector, we can help. We’ll learn about your business, including getting to know the relevant stakeholders, and do the hard work for you.
Our services include cloud system design and digital transformation strategy planning (among many other things). We’ll be by your side along the way as you make the most of Azure and the incredible benefits it brings.
If you’re interested to learn more about what we offer, why not get in touch for a commitment-free chat? Reach out using the form below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
