Azure Economics

Understanding Microsoft Azure

Kevin James

Technical Lead and Training Architect

Azure pricing

Azure Free Account

• New Azure users get some services free for first 12 months
• No initial financial commitment needed
• Select resources free indefinitely
• Always review pricing for budgeting

Pay as you go

• Azure uses pay-as-you-go pricing model
• Responsibilities vary by service type
• Options available to reduce costs
• No upfront costs with pay-as-you-go
• Scale resources as needed for cost optimization

Reservations

• Commit to plans for cost reduction
• Save up to 72% off pay-as-you-go
• Reservations ideal for:
  • consistent resource usage
  • long-term projects

Reservations

• Like advanced hotel booking
• Secures space at lower rates
• Ensures availability on arrival
• Avoids premium on-the-spot rates

Spot Instances

• Reduce costs with Spot instances
  • Virtual machine usage
• Buy unused compute capacity at savings
• Ideal for interruptible workloads
• No specific completion time needed

Azure Hybrid Benefit

• Allows you to reuse on-premises licenses that already exist
  • Results in substantial savings
• Avoid new purchase costs
• Maximize existing investments
• Easier migration due to familiar setup

Planning costs in Azure

• Use the Pricing Calculator
• Consult Total Cost of Ownership Calculator
• Monitor and optimize costs with best practices

Azure Pricing Calculator

• Estimate costs with pricing calculator
• Specify needs for accurate estimates
• Customizable options for budgeting
• Simulate scenarios for cost-effectiveness
• Optimize cloud spending with detailed breakdowns

Total Cost of Ownership

• Focuses on long-term value
• Estimates savings with Azure migration
• Also considers:
  • operational benefits
  • reduced downtime risks
  • scalability options

Azure Cost Management

• Use centralized dashboard to monitor costs
• Apply budget caps for optimization
• Analyze costs by service, resource group
  • Pinpoint high cost resources

Cost Optimization

• Regularly review costs to avoid waste
• Turn off underutilized resources
• Azure Advisor offers personalized recommendations
  • Provides insights on cost-efficiency and performance

Let's practice!

Understanding Microsoft Azure