Microsoft Events presents an advanced session at Ignite 2025 where Rob Kuehfus and Mrunal Patwa demonstrate strategies for maximizing Azure ROI, including architecture best practices and Copilot-powered cost savings.

From Spend to Strategy: Drive Cost Efficiency and Elevate Azure ROI (BRK216)

Speakers: Rob Kuehfus, Mrunal Patwa

Session Overview: This Microsoft Ignite breakout session targets architects and technical strategists aiming to maximize the business value of their Azure investments. Session highlights include:

  • Strategic approaches for building long-term business value with Azure
  • Eight foundational design areas covering environment and compliance considerations
  • Landing zone hierarchy and policy inheritance for robust cost control
  • Demonstrations of Copilot prompts for modernization and cost-aware architecture goals
  • Deployment walkthrough to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
  • Utilizing the Azure Hybrid Benefit to capture additional savings
  • Cloud-native application architecture templates for accurate cost estimation
  • Live Copilot-assisted recommendations for automated optimization and cost reduction

Key Topics

1. Building for Sustainable Business Value

  • Aligning cloud investments with organizational goals
  • Ensuring architecture foundation supports long-term ROI

2. Design Areas & Compliance

  • Advanced (300 level) coverage of environment setup
  • Policy management and compliance strategies to support efficiency

3. Cost Control Strategies

  • Establishing landing zones in Azure for effective resource management
  • Policy inheritance as a mechanism for maintaining budget discipline

4. Modernization with Copilot

  • Prompt engineering for cost-aware modernization goals
  • Copilot’s automated planning and implementation support
  • Deploying solutions to AKS with Copilot assistance

5. Azure Hybrid Benefit Utilization

  • Reducing costs through licensing offers and hybrid capabilities

6. Automated Optimization & Recommendations

  • Using cloud-native templates for consistent architecture and cost estimates
  • Copilot-driven insights to identify and implement cost-saving actions

Resources

About the Speakers

Rob Kuehfus and Mrunal Patwa bring deep technical expertise and practical experience in helping organizations adopt efficient, strategic Azure architectures and AI-driven optimization techniques.