Octobits Blog – We need to understand and manage Microsoft Azure Cloud Services cost as more businesses start using Azure.
Azure has something for everyone, no matter the size of your organization, from startups to multinationals.
These services help organizations to grow, boost productivity, and come up with new ideas quickly.
But as with most things in life, there’s a price to pay for good services. That’s why we need to talk about it here.
Why is Microsoft Azure So Expensive?
Microsoft Azure is seen as a pricey cloud service because of a few things that are built into it.
Azure offers a lot of flexibility, solid security, and global reach, which are essential for enterprise-grade apps but come at a higher price.
These features make it easy for businesses to scale up their operations, keep their data safe, and maintain performance across different regions.
But this huge range of services can end up costing more if you don’t manage it properly.
With cloud services like Azure, you don’t have the same fixed costs as with traditional on-premises infrastructure.
Instead, you pay based on how much you use, which can make your bills harder to predict.
Factors Affecting Azure Costs
One of the main things that affects the cost of Azure is the type of service you use and how you use it.
For instance, compute services like virtual machines (VMs) are billed based on their size, region, and uptime, while storage services are charged based on the amount of data stored and access frequency.
This means that different setups and reserved instances can make a big difference to the overall cost.
Data transfer and network usage are also big factors in how much you’ll pay for Azure.
If you’re moving data between Azure services or transferring data out, you might have to pay extra. This depends on where you are and how much data you’re transferring.
Where you are is another big factor. Azure services are available in multiple regions around the world, and the costs can vary a lot between these regions.
Things like data center infrastructure costs and regional demand also play a part in these differences.
For example, using Azure services in the East US region might cost less than in the Asia region because of different operational costs.
If you’re a business looking to save money, you can get a discount with reserved instances and savings plans if you sign up for one or three years.
These plans can really cut costs compared to pay-as-you-go pricing models.
Is Azure More Costly Than AWS?
When you’re looking at Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS), you’ll find that the cost can vary quite a bit depending on the specific services you need and how you’re going to use them.
Both Azure and AWS have competitive pricing models, but they’re structured differently in a few ways.
The Azure Cost Optimization Whitepaper by Cloud4C says the fact that Azure is so integrated with Microsoft products like Office 365 and Dynamics 365 means it’s a great choice for businesses that are already heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.
This integration can help offset some costs when compared to AWS, especially for businesses already using these Microsoft services a lot.
Sometimes, AWS seems cheaper for specific standalone services because of its detailed pricing and wide range of options.
But in some cases, Azure can actually be more cost-effective overall, especially when businesses can make use of Azure Hybrid Benefit and reserved instances.
All of these benefits can add up to big savings, which could make Azure a better deal in the long run for some workloads.
To learn more about Azure pricing, you can read “Worried About Hidden Costs in Microsoft Azure pricing? We’ve Been There.”
When Is It Important to Reduce Azure Costs?
When there’s a big jump in cloud spending without a corresponding increase in business value, it’s time to think about ways to reduce Azure costs.
This often happens when resources are over-provisioned, services are underutilized, or there’s a lack of cost management practices.
Cloud4C in their white paper shows that it’s important to regularly check your cloud spending and put cost-cutting strategies in place to keep your finances in check.
For instance, a company might see costs going up because of idle virtual machines or storage solutions that aren’t optimized.
In these cases, it’s important to identify and eliminate these inefficiencies to keep costs under control.
Also, tools like Azure Cost Management can show you where your money is going, so you can spot areas where you can cut costs.
How to Reduce Azure Cloud Services Cost
Right-Sizing and Scaling
Right-sizing means adjusting the amount of resources you have to match what you actually need.
If you keep an eye on how you’re using cloud resources and scale back on the ones you don’t need, you can cut your costs a lot.
Azure’s auto-scaling features let you adjust resources on the fly based on what you need, so you get the best of both performance and cost.
Use of Reserved Instances
Purchasing reserved instances for predictable workloads can really save you a lot of money.
Azure has discounts for one- and three-year reserved instances, so it’s a great choice for long-term projects.
This approach requires you to make an upfront commitment, but it can result in significant cost savings compared to pay-as-you-go pricing.
Utilizing Cost Management Tools
The Azure Cost Management and Billing tools give you a complete picture of your spending, so you can spot ways to cut costs.
These tools let users set budgets, track costs, and get alerts for anything out of the ordinary.
If you use these tools effectively, they can help businesses manage and optimize their cloud spending in an efficient way.
Want to learn more about how to calculate Azure pricing? Please refer to “Microsoft Azure Pricing Calculator: We Found Out Your Budget’s New BFF.”
Tips to Optimize Microsoft Azure Cloud Services Cost
Taking a look at your cloud spending on a regular basis is really important for spotting trends and anything out of the ordinary.
Using Azure Cost Management for these reviews helps businesses to quickly deal with any unexpected cost increases.
If your workload can handle the odd interruption, Spot VMs are a cost-effective alternative to regular VMs.
Leveraging unused Azure capacity, Spot VMs can slash costs for non-critical apps.
One way to keep cloud costs under control is to use resource tagging. This lets you manage costs across different teams and projects.
Tags let you categorize and track spending, which makes it easier to be accountable and manage resources more efficiently.
Setting up auto-shutdown policies for development and testing environments can help you avoid spending money when you’re not using the resources.
By automatically shutting down resources when they’re not in use, businesses can avoid paying for idle capacity.
If you use Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows Server and SQL Server licenses, you can save a lot on VM costs.
This benefit lets your business use its existing on-premises licenses in the Azure cloud, so you don’t have to spend more money.
While optimizing your cloud infrastructure on Azure is important, remember the impact of your SaaS applications on your overall cloud ecosystem.
Your SaaS subscriptions often represent a big chunk of your Azure investment, so it’s crucial to manage them efficiently.
We at Octobits get it. That’s why we’ve created Octobits, a comprehensive SaaS management solution that seamlessly integrates with Azure.
As your supporting system, Octobits offer comprehensive SaaS management to bridge those gaps.
The idea is you can keep an eye on how you’re using SaaS, make sure you’re getting the most out of your licenses, and find ways to save money.
All while making sure your SaaS investments fit with your overall Azure strategy.
Absolutely. Octobits gives you a single, unified view of your entire SaaS landscape within your Azure environment.
We’d love for you to check the benefits of Octobits integration to your system today.
So, kindly visit our website to see how our tools, insights, and automation can help you grow, work more efficiently, and achieve more.
In Closing
If you manage your Azure costs wisely and use the right tools, you’ll get more out of your investment and save money in the long run.
If you’re looking for more advanced ways to cut costs or need help with things like managing your software licenses, teaming up with a service like Octobits could be a good move.
In the long run, Octobits will help you understand and control the Microsoft Azure cloud services cost so you can use the cloud in a sustainable and efficient way.
