Azure requires a different approach
If you have an understanding of Microsoft Azure, or have seen our webinar series, then you will know that it provides a powerful, flexible and dynamic platform that enables the building of services to support virtually any solution requirement.
However, operating Azure is different to the traditional on-premises world. Not least because there are considerable financial implications, since all the services are charged by the unit. It is therefore important to ensure that any deployment is optimised as far as possible to keep costs to a minimum. Doing this could mean the difference between Azure being a viable alternative to a traditional on-premises infrastructure or not.
Where are the opportunities to optimise costs?
Optimising costs in an Azure can be achieved in a number of ways, some having greater impact than others. It is also possible that some methods can be combined, whilst others are mutually exclusive.
Key optimisation opportunities include:
- Windows Server licensing method. This can be managed through Azure or by applying on-premises licences
- Time-based scaling, where servers are turned on and off as required
- Rightsizing, which is matching server specification to performance requirements
- Reserved Instances, which are discounted pre-paid purchases
- Application re-factoring, where a traditional server-based deployment is reconfigured using server-less technologies.
Cost optimisation can be applied to new implementations, where the optimisations are part of the design, or it can be applied to existing platforms, where deployments which may have been implemented without best practise governance and design approaches.
How much can be saved?
Every organisation is different, consequently it’s difficult to say. However, as an example, a recent review for a customer identified a reduction of running costs from £60k to £30k per annum. This was based on application of the techniques detailed above as well as a number of other opportunities identified through the analysis & review process.
More information and help
Please join us for a 1/2 day seminar in London on 5th June 2019 around cost-optimisation in Azure, or if you can’t make it view a recording of a recent webinar.
If you want to speak to one of our Azure consultants simply complete the form below and one of our Account Managers will be in touch to arrange a meeting time. This applies if you already use Azure and want to discuss cost optimisation, or if you are planning to deploy it and want to understand how to optimise costs as well as other design, implementation and migration considerations.
