The activity of monitoring, measuring, and regulating cloud costs is referred to as cloud cost management. The goal of Azure cloud management is to guarantee that your investment in cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) is maximized. The terms “cloud cost management” and “cloud cost optimization” are practically interchangeable, and we strongly suggest that you make full use of the cost management tools that are offered by Microsoft Azure. In this article, we will take a look at the best Azure cloud management tools.
Here is our list of the best Azure Cloud Management tools:
- Azure Cost Management + Billing Most helpful for finance teams because it provides them with a comprehensive overview of their costs as well as chances to save money across their whole cloud infrastructure.
- Serverless360 Monitoring and management platform for serverless applications in Azure. It can monitor your serverless integration solutions in their entirety.
- nOps Azure Cost Optimization Event-driven cloud data platform that operates in real-time. nOps enables businesses to automate the reduction and prevention of recurrence of costs, as well as governance and compliance issues.
- Spot by NetApp Offers usage reports and insights into cloud spending. You may maximize the efficiency of your cloud expenditure by putting the advice for cost management into action.
- Apptio’s Cloudability Financial management solution that includes tools for rightsizing, budgeting, and forecasting, in addition to monitoring, reporting, and evaluating the costs associated with cloud computing.
- CloudHealth by VMware Your entire financial health can be more easily understood with the use of CloudHealth’s Cost Summary dashboard.
When you create an Azure account, you will have access to a significant number of these services at no additional cost. Any company or organization that is thinking about moving to the Azure cloud or is already using it has to have financial controls in place for their Azure subscription.
On the other hand, as businesses progress toward the adoption of next-generation cloud services, cloud cost management is increasingly concentrating on the optimization of architectural components. When seen through this lens, application development may be done so that the underlying infrastructure is very elastic. This allows your firm to only pay for the resources that it and its customers utilize.
In this post, we will discuss the best Azure cloud management tools to manage, oversee, and exercise control over the costs associated with using Microsoft Azure.
The Best Azure Cloud Management Tools
1. Azure Cost Management + Billing
Each of the public cloud providers comes with its built-in interface that gives you an overview of the charges associated with your account. Microsoft Azure is equipped with a built-in solution called Azure Cost Management + Billing that will assist you in better comprehending the costs associated with using the Azure cloud. Teams can obtain a bird’s eye perspective of how much they are spending on Azure’s cloud services, and with some clever connectors, they can do much more.
Key Features:
- Works best on a limited scale, where there are few teams involved and a relatively straightforward cost structure.
- Integration between PowerBI and Amazon Web Services (through Cloudyn) makes it possible to create superior dashboards and reports.
- Gives you suggestions on how you might cut costs based on the way you use the service.
- Enables you to create notifications for your budgetary needs
- There is no additional fee for customers of Azure
Why do we recommend it?
Azure Cost Management + Billing provides deep insights into cloud expenses, helping organizations optimize spending and improve financial governance. Its integration with Azure Advisor offers actionable recommendations to reduce waste and enhance resource utilization.
Azure, much like other major cloud platforms, includes built-in features that can assist you in managing your cloud spending most efficiently. Utilization patterns are analyzed with advanced analytics, which results in rising expenses for Microsoft Azure customers. Azure Cost Management will also provide you with recommendations that will assist you in reducing costs.
You also can define particular budgets, and Azure will notify you whenever you go over a budget that you have set. Users of Azure can also configure notifications that will warn them whenever they use up all of the resources that they have been granted. Azure has built-in cost management features that are completely free for all customers of the platform.
Azure Cost Management offers comprehensive analytics that displays the cost and uses patterns of your organization as they evolve. The report on cost management provides an overview of the usage-based costs that Azure services and third-party marketplace items incurred. The cost that is displayed is the actual pricing that is associated with your Azure account.
This pricing is calculated using negotiated discounts, and it also takes into consideration discounts for resource reservations and Azure Hybrid Benefits. It is important to keep in mind, however, that additional fees, such as support costs and taxes, are not reflected in the reports.
Who is it recommended for?
This tool is ideal for IT and finance teams managing Azure cloud environments, especially those with complex, multi-departmental cloud usage. It’s particularly beneficial for enterprises seeking to control costs, forecast expenses, and improve accountability across cloud resources.
Pros:
- Comprehensive Cost Analysis: Provides detailed insights into your cloud expenditures, allowing for effective tracking and management of resources.
- Budgeting and Forecasting: Offers robust tools for setting budgets and forecasting future costs based on historical data, aiding in financial planning.
- Cost Optimization Recommendations: Integration with Azure Advisor delivers actionable suggestions to optimize resource utilization and reduce expenses.
- Multi-Cloud Support: Supports cost management across multiple cloud platforms, providing a unified view of expenditures.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Users can monitor cloud usage and costs in real-time, enabling prompt identification of anomalies or overspending.
Cons:
- Complexity for New Users: Extensive features and settings may present a steep learning curve for individuals new to cloud cost management.
2. Serverless360 Azure Monitoring Tool
Serverless360 Azure Monitoring Tool is a monitoring and management platform for serverless applications in Azure. It can monitor your serverless integration solutions in their entirety. Although Azure Portal was developed specifically for use in vertical technology silos, real-world scenarios typically entail integrated cloud applications that make use of a minimum of three to four distinct Azure services. Because they are not usually constructed using a single technology stack, it can be challenging to visualize and manage connected solutions using Azure Portal.
Key Features:
- Complete picture of your Azure ecosystem in its entirety
- Code-free management of various Azure services together with enhanced security
- Centralized monitoring for Azure’s many different service locations
- Comprehensive collection of cutting-edge tools to meet the requirements of day-to-day business
- Eliminate the need for human involvement by fully automating labor-intensive processes
- Message tracking from beginning to end across all Integrations
- Documentation for Azure may be generated automatically in a matter of minutes.
- Conduct audits of actions taken by users on entities contained within Serverless360
Why do we recommend it?
Serverless360 offers a robust solution for managing and monitoring Azure serverless environments, providing comprehensive insights and control over various services. Its centralized management and real-time alerting enhance operational efficiency and responsiveness.
Serverless360 is a tool that will assist you in managing and monitoring all of the dispersed Azure services that you have in a centralized location. Serverless360 can provide solutions to the problems that businesses experience when working with the Azure portal and resources. These problems include a lack of application visibility, integrated tooling, consolidated monitoring, message processing, auditing, application-level security, and more. Serverless360 can solve these problems and more.
Consolidated monitoring is functionality that may be obtained with Serverless360 Azure Monitoring Tool. If your company’s business solution makes use of serverless components provided by Azure, such as Service Bus Queues, Logic Apps, and Function Apps, and if your monitoring requirements dictate that you receive an up-to-date status report on all of your resources at regular intervals of one hour each, then this scenario applies. If you want to communicate the status report with the members of the team using Slack, then the solution of Status Monitor is what you need. Serverless360 provides it.
Who is it recommended for?
This platform is ideal for organizations utilizing Azure’s serverless architecture, particularly those seeking a unified tool to monitor and manage multiple services. It’s especially beneficial for teams aiming to improve their operational oversight and proactively address potential issues within their Azure environments.
Pros:
- Comprehensive Monitoring: Offers extensive monitoring capabilities, providing real-time visibility into application performance, infrastructure status, and user activities.
- Centralized Management: Provides a unified view of various Azure services, simplifying operations and reducing the need to navigate multiple interfaces.
- Real-Time Alerting: Users benefit from customizable alerts that notify them of specific conditions, facilitating prompt responses to potential issues.
- User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive design of Serverless360 makes it accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise.
Cons:
- Learning Curve: Some users may find the platform’s extensive features overwhelming initially, requiring time to fully utilize its capabilities.
- Customization Limitations: Certain customization options, such as dashboard configurations, may be less flexible than desired for specific use cases.
3. nOps Azure Cost Optimization
nOps is an event-driven cloud data platform that operates in real-time. nOps enables businesses to automate the reduction and prevention of recurrence of costs, as well as governance and compliance issues. Through a GraphQL endpoint, your team will have access to normalized cloud data, allowing them to automate mundane operations without having to deal with the hassle of managing cloud data architecture.
Key Features:
- Get a good look at the Azure platform’s underlying architecture
- Maintain consistent application of the findings from cost-management analyses
- Automate Azure’s administrative tasks and ensure compliance
Why do we recommend it?
nOps offers robust tools for cost optimization and resource management within Azure environments. Its automated features and detailed analytics empower organizations to efficiently manage cloud expenditures and enhance operational performance.
Automating a company’s reserved instances, tuning Lambdas after their deployments, sizing resources appropriately, and automating innumerable manual activities are simple for companies to do with AWS. nOps is a market-leading provider of cloud platform management services and has outstanding Azure capabilities. nOps is a tool that customers of Azure can use to do a variety of cost management tasks, such as tracking costs and identifying abnormalities. All cost management features are under one Cloud Cost-Control Dashboard.
The Azure Well-Architected framework is one example of an industry-leading standard that users can leverage to optimize cloud costs. For instance, you can locate prioritized insights and the essential cost management actions you need to take under the pillar labeled “cost optimization”.
You can obtain constant insights on the health of your AWS and Azure infrastructure to optimize costs, improve security, maintain reliability, maximize performance efficiency, and achieve operational excellence. When you execute a Well-Architected Review on your AWS and Azure workloads, you will not only save time but also obtain better insights. Because AWS and Azure Well-Architected alignment should be evaluated continually (best practices are not one-and-done), nOps offers you continuous feedback on your compliance with these standards.
Who is it recommended for?
This platform is ideal for organizations heavily invested in Azure seeking to optimize cloud costs and streamline resource management. It’s particularly beneficial for teams aiming to automate routine tasks and gain comprehensive insights into their cloud infrastructure.
Pros:
- Comprehensive Cost Optimization: Excels in identifying and eliminating inefficiencies within Azure environments, leading to significant cost savings.
- Automated Resource Management: Automates tasks such as infrastructure provisioning and deployment, enhancing operational efficiency.
- User-Friendly Interface: Users appreciate the intuitive design, which simplifies navigation and accelerates the learning curve.
- Detailed Reporting and Analytics: Provides in-depth reports and analytics, offering valuable insights into cloud spending and resource utilization.
Cons:
- Limited Multi-Cloud Support: While nOps primarily focuses on AWS, its Azure capabilities are still developing, which may limit effectiveness in multi-cloud environments.
- Customization Constraints: Some users have reported limitations in customizing dashboards and reports to meet specific organizational needs.
- Complex Pricing Structure: The platform’s pricing model can be intricate, potentially leading to challenges in cost predictability.
4. Spot by NetApp
Spot is a modern cloud cost management tool that focuses more precisely on assisting businesses in automating their cloud cost improvements based on data. It does this by collecting and analyzing cloud usage data. This differs from other conventional tools in that it identifies opportunities, but it leaves the implementation of those chances up to the teams that are utilizing the tool. This distinction makes Spot a cloud management platform as well. This tool is most helpful for engineering teams, but it also has some application in financial management.
Key Features:
- Offers automation features to optimize cloud infrastructure, including the configuration of container environments
- Provides cost visibility across several cloud platforms, including AWS, GCP, and Azure
- Gives optimization recommendations that are easy to implement and can be done so in a few steps.
- Cost patterns for surfaces that do not seem to make sense based on usage patterns
- Provides an estimate of future costs by analyzing past consumption information
Why do we recommend it?
Spot by NetApp offers a robust solution for organizations aiming to optimize cloud infrastructure costs while maintaining high performance. Its automated resource management and scalability features make it a valuable tool for dynamic cloud environments.
Utilizing the cloud’s Spot resources is one of the most effective ways to cut cloud service expenses. The term “spot” refers to unused computer resources that are hosted in the cloud. Spot capacity is available to anyone who needs it for temporary or unpredictable workloads. With Elastigroup, you might reduce your expenses by as much as 89 percent with the assistance of Spot by NetApp. Elastigroup is a tool that helps streamline the process of allocating unused computing resources.
Users can visit numerous Spot virtual machines within the same group if they choose to do so. You’ll be able to reduce expenses while maintaining the optimal capacity if you do it in this manner. In addition to that, Spot offers usage reports and insights into cloud spending. You may maximize the efficiency of your cloud expenditure by putting the advice for cost management into action.
Who is it recommended for?
This platform is ideal for businesses operating in multi-cloud settings that seek to enhance cost efficiency and automate resource optimization. It’s particularly beneficial for organizations with variable workloads that can leverage spot instances for significant savings.
Pros:
- Significant Cost Savings: Enables organizations to reduce cloud computing expenses by up to 80% through efficient utilization of spot instances and automated resource management.
- Automated Infrastructure Optimization: Leverages machine learning to continuously analyze and adjust cloud resources, ensuring optimal performance and cost-efficiency without manual intervention.
- Enhanced Scalability: Simplifies operations by automatically scaling resources to meet application demands, improving system responsiveness and reliability.
- Comprehensive Cloud Integration: Integrates seamlessly with various cloud service providers, offering a unified platform for managing multi-cloud environments.
Cons:
- Potential for Instance Interruption: Utilizing spot instances can lead to unexpected terminations due to fluctuating availability, which may affect applications requiring consistent uptime.
- Learning Curve for Advanced Features: Some users may find the platform’s advanced functionalities complex, necessitating time and training to fully leverage its capabilities.
- Limited Support for Certain Cloud Providers: Currently lacks support for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), which may limit its applicability for organizations using OCI services.
5. Apptio Cloudability
Cloudability is a cloud cost management platform that focuses on assisting customers in gaining visibility into their spending, as well as managing and optimizing that spending once it has been uncovered. In addition to this, they assist businesses in visualizing the changes that will occur to their cost profile as a result of moving to the cloud. FinOps and financial teams will find the greatest value in using this application.
Key Features:
- Provides cost visibility across several cloud platforms, including AWS, GCP, and Azure
- Recommendations for cost savings across all business workloads, including purchasing reserved instances and rightsizing
- Included in the package is a tag explorer, which can locate missing tags across the infrastructure
- Equipped with capabilities for anomaly identification, budgeting, and forecasting that assist organizations in avoiding or preventing surprises in their cloud spending
Why do we recommend it?
Apptio Cloudability offers a comprehensive solution for organizations aiming to optimize their cloud expenditures. Its user-friendly interface and robust reporting capabilities make it a valuable tool for gaining insights into cloud spending and identifying cost-saving opportunities.
You may also use it to schedule reserved instances, monitor container charges, locate abnormalities and set alarms, and discover chances for cost savings. In addition, you can use it to uncover cost-saving opportunities. In addition, Cloudability connects with cloud monitoring solutions such as PageDuty and DataDog and gathers data from such tools to provide additional in-depth insights on cloud costs.
People are using more cloud services as cloud computing becomes more widely adopted. Azure provides a conducive atmosphere for growth. Nevertheless, with expansion comes the possibility of increased expenditures, and the management of those costs becomes increasingly more difficult as a firm expands. Users of Azure can get assistance from Apptio in allocating the appropriate tags to each cost center. You won’t have any trouble understanding the report if you do it in this manner. In addition to this, you can share billing reports with other members of the team so that every department is aware of how invoices change over time. Apptio provides advice on properly rightsizing Azure resources, which is of the utmost importance.
Who is it recommended for?
This platform is ideal for businesses operating in multi-cloud environments that require detailed visibility into their cloud costs. It’s particularly beneficial for organizations seeking to implement effective cost management strategies and improve financial accountability across their cloud infrastructure.
Pros:
- Comprehensive Cost Management: Provides detailed insights into cloud expenditures, enabling organizations to monitor and manage costs effectively.
- User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive and easy to navigate, reducing the learning curve for new users.
- Robust Reporting Capabilities: Users can generate customizable reports that offer valuable insights into cloud spending patterns.
- Multi-Cloud Support: Supports various cloud service providers, offering a unified view of expenditures across different platforms.
Cons:
- Limited Feature Set: Some users have reported missing features that could enhance functionality.
- Cost Management Challenges: There have been instances where the platform’s cost management tools did not meet user expectations.
- User Interface Issues: Certain aspects of the user interface may require improvement to enhance user experience.
- Dashboard Limitations: Some users have encountered issues with dashboard customization and usability.
6. CloudHealth by VMware
Cloudhealth is a cost management application for the cloud that focuses specifically on governance within cloud charges. Customers can acquire visibility into their spending, optimize it, and set rules that match their compliance and financial management demands with the assistance of Cloudhealth, which was the first major tool of its sort to be released onto the market.
Key Features:
- Features that support good governance, allowing for the creation and management of financial controls
- Able to establish a correlation between cloud installations and security threats
- Allows for cost awareness across several clouds and hybrid clouds
- Recommendations for cost savings across all business workloads, including purchasing reserved instances and rightsizing
- Includes tools for budgeting and forecasting that keep teams from going over their allotted spending.
Why do we recommend it?
CloudHealth by VMware provides a robust solution for organizations seeking comprehensive multi-cloud management and cost optimization. Its policy-driven automation and detailed analytics empower businesses to efficiently manage resources and control expenditures.
CloudHealth provides users of Azure with automated tools that help them reduce their cloud expenditures. You can set individualized rules that will automate the management of your cloud spending. In addition to this, it offers a comprehensive cost analysis of cloud services in comparison to predetermined spending limits. In addition, the CloudHealth dashboard makes it simple for users to identify any unusual occurrences.
Use CloudHealth reports to get the advice of industry professionals on how to reduce wasteful spending on cloud services. A further method for optimizing cloud spending is providing the ability for subscribers to assign chargebacks to the appropriate business units. Your entire financial health can be more easily understood with the use of CloudHealth’s Cost Summary dashboard.
Who is it recommended for?
This platform is ideal for medium to large enterprises operating in complex, multi-cloud environments. It’s particularly beneficial for organizations aiming to enhance governance, optimize costs, and gain deeper insights into their cloud infrastructure.
Pros:
- Comprehensive Multi-Cloud Management: Offers extensive visibility and control across various cloud platforms, enabling organizations to manage resources efficiently.
- Cost Optimization Tools: Provides actionable insights and recommendations for cost savings, helping businesses optimize their cloud expenditures.
- Policy-Driven Automation: With customizable policies, CloudHealth automates governance and compliance tasks, reducing manual effort and minimizing the risk of human error.
- Detailed Reporting and Analytics: Users can generate in-depth reports and analytics, facilitating informed decision-making and strategic planning.
Cons:
- Complexity for New Users: Extensive features may present a learning curve for newcomers, potentially requiring time and training to fully utilize its capabilities.
- Performance Variability: Some users have reported inconsistencies in performance and accuracy, indicating areas where the platform could improve.
- Feature Limitations: Certain advanced features, such as deeper cloud resource insights and enhanced automation, may be lacking compared to competitors.
