In this Azure Essentials Show episode, Thomas Maurer guides readers through advanced use of the Azure Pricing Calculator with insights from Britt Henderson, focusing on how to confidently estimate and manage Azure costs.

Azure Pricing Calculator: Estimate Smarter, Plan Confidently

Hosts: Thomas Maurer (Microsoft EMEA GBB for Sovereign Cloud) and Britt Henderson (Microsoft Azure)

Overview

This episode of the Azure Essentials Show spotlights the Azure Pricing Calculator, a free web-based tool designed for anyone planning or managing Azure workloads. Thomas and Britt demonstrate the calculator’s interface, walk through essential features, and share best practices for effective cloud cost estimation.

Key Topics Covered

  • Access and Navigation:
    • Entry point: Azure Pricing Calculator
    • Simple navigation and intuitive UI for configuring cloud resources and services.
  • Real-Time Pricing & Precision:
    • Instant cost feedback as you model various scenarios
    • Ability to review detailed breakdowns by service, region, and configuration.
  • Scenario Modeling:
    • Users can tweak variables, service tiers, licensing options, and durations to see how changes affect cost.
  • Collaboration and Personalization:
    • Share cost estimates with colleagues or stakeholders
    • Save and revisit calculator scenarios
    • Customize estimates for different roles (e.g., architects, financial analysts)
  • Use Cases:
    • Planning new Azure deployments
    • Migrating on-premises workloads
    • Comparing price options for different architectures

Actionable Advice

  • Start by exploring the Azure Pricing Calculator in a sandbox project
  • Experiment with adding services, changing tiers, and modeling scenarios relevant to your organization
  • Share scenarios with your team to support decision making and budget discussions
  • Use the tool’s real-time analytics to validate architecture plans against available budget

Best Practices

  • Keep Estimates Up-To-Date: Review estimates regularly as Azure pricing may change
  • Collaborate with Stakeholders: Invite business and technical colleagues to review and validate projections
  • Document Assumptions: Make note of usage forecasts, deployment regions, and any special software or licensing needs
  • Explore Tutorials and Documentation: Leverage available tutorials and Microsoft documentation to enhance cost modeling skills

About the Author

Thomas Maurer is the EMEA Global Black Belt (GBB) for Sovereign Cloud at Microsoft. He actively helps organizations adopt Azure and hybrid cloud strategies, drawing on deep expertise in scalable architectures and cloud adoption.

Learn more on Thomas Maurer’s blog.

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