World Congress 2025 • Aug 20, 2025 • Session details

Leave it to the Dutch: How to save on your Azure bill!

Michaël Hompus

A single runaway API loop can secretly drain thousands of euros. Learn how regional arbitrage, hardware upgrades, and ruthless cost hygiene can drastically slash your monthly Azure bill.

Pause
Mute Enter Fullscreen
#1 about 4 min

Understanding variable pricing and preliminary cost reduction principles

Recognizing how geographical demand and exchange rates influence cloud pricing establishes realistic expectations for infrastructure optimization.

#2 about 1 min

Identifying and removing unused resources in Azure

Eliminating forgotten experiments and unused services is the foundational step to reducing cloud infrastructure expenses.

#3 about 5 min

Monitoring subscriptions and analyzing major cost outliers

Drilling down into the cost analysis page helps identify disproportionate spending like excessive API requests.

#4 about 2 min

Configuring automated cost alerts for budget thresholds

Setting alert limits slightly above anticipated spending enables rapid incident response to sudden billing spikes.

#5 about 4 min

Leveraging Azure Advisor and Copilot for cost recommendations

Automated environment scans provide actionable advice on unused IP addresses, scaling models, and underutilized components.

#6 about 2 min

Exploring free and basic tiers for web hosting

Utilizing free app service tiers and static web apps significantly lowers the financial barrier for hosting workloads.

#7 about 2 min

Optimizing relational database and managed storage costs

Using traditional database scaling and standard managed disks avoids unnecessary premium hardware expenses for standard workloads.

#8 about 3 min

Selecting cost-effective virtual machines and hosting regions

Lowering cloud compute costs involves bypassing operating system licenses, choosing economical geographic regions, and leveraging preemptible instances.

#9 about 4 min

Upgrading virtual machine generations for hardware discounts

Migrating to the latest generation hardware or alternative processors yields superior specifications at significantly reduced operational prices.

#10 about 3 min

Reserving compute capacity for long-term billing discounts

Committing to one-year resource reservations provides substantial financial discounts while retaining flexibility to resize specific instance families.

#11 about 2 min

Utilizing software licenses and architectural cost frameworks

Bringing existing software licenses to the cloud and adopting established architectural frameworks unlocks further operational efficiencies.

Matching moments

9:24 min

Azure well-architected framework cost optimization disciplines

Paweł Siwek Paweł Siwek · Europe 2026 Virtual

1:06 min

Outline of free tools for Microsoft Azure

Radu Vunvulea Radu Vunvulea · World Congress 2022

5:31 min

Pricing models and optimizing total cost of ownership

Gregor Bauer Gregor Bauer · LIVE

2:10 min

Applying the Frugal Architect mental model

Joachim Aumann Joachim Aumann +1 · World Congress 2025

1:24 min

Estimating project expenditures with Azure Pricing Calculator

Radu Vunvulea Radu Vunvulea · World Congress 2022

2:48 min

Adapting application designs for monthly cost reduction

Adam Bien · World Congress 2021