Azure Advisor is Microsoft’s personalized cloud consultant service that provides recommendations to help optimize Azure deployments across cost, security, reliability, performance, and operational excellence dimensions. Primarily focused on identifying opportunities for improvement within your Azure environment, Azure Advisor analyzes resource configuration and usage telemetry to deliver actionable guidance tailored to your specific implementation. Definition and…
Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is Azure’s deployment and management service. It is the foundation for building and managing resources in Microsoft’s cloud platform. Introduced in 2014, ARM replaced the classic deployment model, offering a more robust and unified approach to resource management. In FinOps, ARM plays a crucial role in optimizing cloud costs and improving…
Azure Artifacts is a package management service within Azure DevOps that enables teams to create, host, and share packages across their organization. It serves as a central repository for managing dependencies in software development projects, allowing teams to store and distribute various package types including npm, NuGet, Maven, Python, and Universal packages. As an integrated…
Azure Availability Zones are distinct, physically separated data center locations within an Azure region designed to provide high availability and fault tolerance for cloud infrastructure. These zones offer independent power, cooling, and networking, ensuring that if one zone experiences a disruption, other zones remain operational, minimizing potential service interruptions and protecting critical business workloads. The…
Azure Bicep is a domain-specific language (DSL) developed by Microsoft for deploying and managing Azure resources. It is a more efficient and user-friendly alternative to Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, providing a declarative syntax for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) in the Azure ecosystem. The primary purpose of Azure Bicep is to enable developers and IT…
Azure Boards is a work tracking service that forms part of Microsoft’s Azure DevOps platform. It provides teams with specialized tools for planning, tracking, and discussing work across the entire development process. For organizations implementing FinOps practices, Azure Boards serves as a critical component in visualizing, managing, and optimizing cloud expenditure alongside regular project management…
Azure Cost Management is a comprehensive suite of tools and services provided by Microsoft Azure to help organizations monitor, allocate, and optimize their cloud spending. It is an essential component of FinOps practices, enabling businesses to gain visibility into their Azure costs, control expenses, and maximize the value of their cloud investments. By leveraging Azure…
Azure Dev/Test pricing is a specialized pricing model offered by Microsoft Azure that provides discounted rates for non-production workloads such as development, testing, and staging environments. This pricing structure enables organizations to maintain separate development and testing infrastructures at reduced costs compared to production environments, while still accessing the full capabilities of Azure services. The…
Azure DevOps is a comprehensive set of development tools and services provided by Microsoft to facilitate the entire software development lifecycle. It offers a suite of integrated features that support modern DevOps practices and FinOps principles, enabling organizations to streamline their development processes, improve collaboration, and optimize cloud costs. It evolved from Microsoft’s Team Foundation…
Azure Functions is a serverless computing service provided by Microsoft Azure that enables developers to run event-driven code without managing infrastructure. This cloud-based solution allows organizations to execute small pieces of code or “functions” in response to various triggers, scaling automatically based on demand. Key Features and Capabilities Azure Functions offers a range of features…
Azure Pipelines is a cloud-based continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) service provided by Microsoft Azure that automates software building, testing, and deployment processes. As a critical component of modern cloud infrastructure, Azure Pipelines enables organizations to streamline their software development workflows while providing significant opportunities for cost management and operational efficiency. Core Concepts Technical…
Azure Policy is a governance tool within Microsoft Azure that enables organizations to enforce rules and maintain compliance across their cloud resources. It plays an important role in cloud governance and is particularly important in FinOps practices for managing and optimizing cloud costs. Key Components of Azure Policy Azure Policy consists of several key components…