Cloud costs can spiral quickly without proper governance. In our work with SMEs, we often find that 20–30% of Azure spend is avoidable. Here are practical steps to regain control without sacrificing performance.
Right‑size your resources
Many organisations over‑provision virtual machines "just in case." Use Azure Advisor and Cost Management to identify underutilised VMs, and consider Azure Reservations or Savings Plans for predictable workloads.
Implement tagging and budgets
Without proper tagging, cost attribution becomes impossible. Enforce a tagging policy that aligns with your business structure (e.g., cost centre, environment, project). Set budget alerts to catch anomalies early.
Optimise storage and networking
Review blob storage tiers — moving infrequently accessed data to Cool or Archive tiers can yield significant savings. Also, evaluate data egress charges; sometimes architectural changes can reduce cross‑region traffic.
Use automation to enforce policies
Azure Policy and Automation can automatically shut down non‑production environments outside business hours or enforce specific VM SKUs. This eliminates manual oversight and ensures consistency.
At Shortech Consulting, we offer a fixed‑price Azure Cost Optimisation Review that typically identifies 15–25% savings within two weeks. Contact us to learn more.