STRUCTURED COST GOVERNANCE

Azure Cost Optimization Strategy #1

STEP 1

STRUCTURED COST GOVERNANCE

Why do Azure and other cloud costs spiral out of control with such regularity? Because the rules around them are either too loose, unenforced, or – even worse – they don’t exist.

The surest way to gain or regain control of Azure costs is to establish a proactive cost optimization initiative with an expert partner that can help you:

Establish rules around spending targets
Setup alerts around specific activities or thresholds
Block certain unapproved actions that could increase spending
Apply tags and chargeback strategies to identify departmental ownership of cloud resources and responsibility for related costs
Determine next steps for remediation of wasteful spending

Here’s how SHI can help >>>

These steps might also be considered the remit of a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) function. Learn more about how SHI can help you create an effective CCoE for Azure and Multi-Cloud environments.

IMPLEMENTING COST GOVERNANCE

with help from SHI

SHI’s Cloud Spend Optimization services help customers build custom cost governance frameworks based on Azure best practices and historic data. These frameworks address complex challenges, such as:

Waste

Working with your business and IT leaders, one of the first steps we take to help you eliminate excess cloud spend and unchecked sprawl is to formally establish what is or is not acceptable within your company’s cloud environment. These rules can include characteristics of waste that trigger alarms for remediation and rightsizing, as well as timelines for deleting unused assets.

Reservation Management

Your organization is likely paying for reservations you’re not even using. We bring transparency to reservations and support exchanges or returns to recoup costs.

AHUB Licensing

Our cloud experts ensure usage rights, such as Azure Hybrid User Benefit (AHUB) licensing arrangement, are fully exploited. Doing so allows eligible organizations to bring their existing on-premises Windows and SQL Server licenses to Azure, along with active Software Assurance or subscriptions. SHI helps determine the best way to utilize licenses and allowances to avoid overspending. This requires a nuanced approach, since not all AHUB rules apply to all customers.