Setup, Cost, & Best Practices
Are you finding your Azure bill baffling and unpredictable? Or is it a useful asset that empowers your strategic insights?
As Azure deployments expand into multi-million pound investments, rising costs and dwindling clarity can turn your cloud agility aspirations into serious headaches. Beyond merely tracking costs, interpreting the extensive data provided by Azure Cost Management into actionable business decisions is a notable challenge.
This is where the Azure FinOps Toolkit comes into play. This open-source collection of tools from Microsoft is designed to unlock advanced FinOps capabilities, enabling teams to deploy solutions efficiently and effectively. With its various dashboards, automation scripts, and data connectors, the toolkit enhances native functionalities, allowing for detailed cost reporting and optimization by identifying idle resources and enabling rightsizing, alongside comprehensive governance frameworks.
Let’s add financial intelligence to your Azure operations by examining the key components of the toolkit, essential prerequisites, deployment tips, and tried-and-tested best practices to create a cost-efficient and financially transparent Azure environment.
What is the Azure FinOps Toolkit?
The Azure FinOps Toolkit is much more than a mere collection of utilities. Microsoft has carefully developed these open-source resources to enhance users’ FinOps maturity and empower teams to take charge of cloud cost management.
This toolkit features tailored components designed to drive significant optimization, offering best-practice guidance and automation functionalities. It caters to the common demand for deeper, actionable insights and greater control, far surpassing the generic capabilities offered by standard Azure portal solutions, especially as cloud environments continue to grow in complexity and scope.
By bridging the crucial gap between financial accountability and engineering agility, the toolkit delivers practical resources that support essential FinOps domains, such as:
- Enhancing cost visibility and allocation;
- Recognising and seizing savings opportunities;
- Establishing continuous automated governance.
A key advantage of the toolkit is its agile, community-driven development approach. As an open-source project, it continuously adapts to user needs, incorporating insights and feedback from Azure experts globally. This collaboration ensures that the toolkit remains robust and responsive to evolving Azure cost challenges.
While the native Azure Cost Management tools offer fundamental spend tracking and basic budgeting, the FinOps Toolkit provides more sophisticated, extensible capabilities vital for mature FinOps. Native tools offer raw data and general recommendations, while the toolkit facilitates detailed, scalable, and custom reporting through FinOps hubs, Power BI starter kits, targeted optimization workbooks for improvements beyond standard Advisor suggestions, and the Azure Optimization Engine for tailored recommendation logic.
These advanced solutions are essential for complex cost allocation, expanded automation, or comprehensive business intelligence (BI) integration. The business value is immense: facilitating quicker implementation of effective cloud financial management, enhancing cost predictability, eliminating waste, and fostering a culture of accountability while maximising return on investment (ROI) for Azure spending.
Core Components and Overview of the Azure FinOps Toolkit
The Azure FinOps Toolkit is not a singular application but a collection of components that target specific aspects of the FinOps lifecycle, from data ingestion and reporting through to advanced optimisation and automation.
It’s crucial to understand how and when to deploy each component, whether alone or in combination, to enhance their collective efficiency and create a FinOps implementation that aligns with your organisation’s distinct Azure landscape.
FinOps Hubs for Scalable Cost Reporting
FinOps hubs serve as a centralised, adaptable data pipeline and storage solution for Azure cost and usage information. Think of it as the backbone for your most demanding cost reporting needs.
- Use Case: For an organisation requiring cross-tenant data aggregation, or facing Power BI refresh timeouts due to monthly Azure spending (typically above £2M), FinOps hubs can rectify these issues.
- Decision Criteria: Consider using FinOps hubs when Cost Management exports are cumbersome due to data volume, or when you need advanced data processing and normalisation before BI integration. They can import extensive datasets into Azure Data Explorer or Microsoft Fabric Real-Time Intelligence for optimal performance.
Power BI Reports for Faster Analytics
Pre-built and adaptable Power BI reports can link to raw Cost Management exports or structured data within a FinOps hub, enabling rapid deployment of cost analytics for immediate insights.
- Use Case: A FinOps team looking to quickly establish dashboards for cost summaries, commitment discount optimisation, invoice reconciliation, or workload optimisation opportunities without the hassle of creating visuals from scratch.
- Decision Criteria: Best when you need a speedy start with visually appealing reporting. Power BI reports offer a solid base that can be adjusted to meet your specific key performance indicators (KPIs) and stakeholder expectations. Choose Power BI for quick deployment and effective use of pre-designed visuals.
Sample invoicing and chargeback report for Power BI
Cost Optimisation and Governance Workbooks
Integrated within Azure Monitor, these workbooks provide engineers with focused, interactive tools for specific FinOps tasks directly within their operational environments, primarily aimed at identifying savings and ensuring compliance. Users can tailor, edit, and add new queries as needed.
- Use Case: An engineering lead wishes for their team to identify idle resources proactively or assess resource compliance against established governance standards without leaving the Azure portal or relying on consolidated FinOps reports.
- Decision Criteria: Opt for workbooks to embed FinOps methods within engineering workflows, enabling self-service optimisation and immediate visibility into savings or compliance issues. Workbooks are excellent for distributing FinOps responsibility at the resource-ownership level.
Rate optimisation section of the workbook
Azure Optimization Engine for Unique Recommendations
This adaptable PowerShell-based tool, known as the Azure Optimization Engine (AOE), acts as a custom version of Azure Advisor, enabling you to design and generate unique optimisation recommendations.
- Use Case: An organisation has specific requirements for VM rightsizing beyond CPU and memory, or needs to uncover non-standard waste (like orphaned resources) that Azure Advisor might overlook. AOE can identify and tailor these recommendations to your needs.
- Decision Criteria: AOE becomes crucial when the default Azure Advisor recommendations don’t meet your requirements, and you seek deep customisation of optimisation logic. It provides a framework for defining unique rules, thresholds, or data sources to identify savings opportunities.
PowerShell Modules and Bicep Registry for Automation
The broader toolkit includes a specific PowerShell module (FinOps Toolkit) and utilises the public Bicep registry for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) deployments of the components.
- Use Case: PowerShell modules can automate Cost Management exports, deploy and configure FinOps hubs, and script scheduled actions. Bicep modules facilitate repeatable, declarative deployments of toolkit components, like alerts for cost anomalies.
- Decision Criteria: Essential for achieving scaled FinOps through automation. Critical for streamlining routine setup tasks or maintaining consistency in your FinOps deployment.
Open Data Resources for In-Depth Analysis
The Azure FinOps Toolkit provides datasets related to Azure services, pricing, and regions that can assist you in cleaning and normalising your data for reporting or ingestion.
- Use Case: Enhance custom Power BI reports by mapping raw Azure service names to more user-friendly business categories, translating obscure pricing units, or ensuring consistent regional naming in bespoke dashboards.
- Decision Criteria: Open data is advantageous when your custom reporting or analytical requirements demand more contextual data than standard Cost Management exports typically provide.
Prerequisites and Planning Your Implementation
To reap the full benefits of the Azure FinOps Toolkit, it’s crucial to go beyond mere technical deployment; it requires strategic planning that aligns technical readiness with organisational adaptation. Failing to adopt a comprehensive approach often results in underused tools and subpar results. Success frequently depends on laying a strong foundation that addresses people, processes, and technology from the outset.
Begin by considering the technical necessities. An active Azure subscription is imperative, and deploying components like FinOps hubs or AOE generally requires Owner or Contributor roles at the requisite scope. Once deployed, it’s wise to transition to least privilege access for day-to-day operations.
Component-specific requirements are equally important: Pro or Premium Power BI licenses are crucial for effectively handling large datasets and sharing reports, along with familiarity with Power Query M for data management and customisation. AOE typically relies on PowerShell (with Azure Cloud Shell simplifying this process), and may even integrate Microsoft Graph modules for governance related to identity.
When deploying FinOps hubs, ensure you understand the costs associated with underlying services such as Azure Data Factory. Most toolkit components are deployed via Azure Resource Manager (ARM) or Bicep templates; align this with your IaC strategy, and always validate in non-production environments first.
Organisational readiness is equally vital. Successful FinOps adoption inherently involves cross-functional collaboration among finance, engineering, and operations teams. Gain stakeholder support and clearly outline responsibilities:
- Who will manage the FinOps dashboards?
- Who is accountable for executing optimisation insights?
- Who will supervise toolkit maintenance?
Moreover, implement a solid change management plan.
Introducing new tools and data can increase workflows, necessitating training and clear communication to promote adoption and deter tools from becoming neglected. Given the sensitivity of cost data, implement stringent data governance protocols regarding access controls, data accuracy, and retention timelines.
The following image illustrates the areas that newer FinOps initiatives typically focus on initially, according to the FinOps Foundation.
Source: FinOps Foundation
Finally, embrace a phased implementation.
Avoid attempting to launch all toolkit components at once. Instead, start with one or two elements that address your most urgent cost issues. Use this initial phase to learn, demonstrate value, and then gradually expand.
This iterative approach helps maintain momentum and prevents teams from feeling overwhelmed. By addressing both technical and organisational prerequisites, you will steer clear of common implementation missteps and ensure that the Azure FinOps Toolkit effectively boosts your cloud cost management efficiency while delivering tangible business benefits.
Optimisation Strategies and Best Practices for the Azure FinOps Toolkit
To truly benefit from the Azure FinOps Toolkit, you must transition from basic tracking to proactive cost optimisation and advanced configurations. Unlocking FinOps’s full potential for savings frequently requires techniques that reach beyond standard documentation, focusing on comprehensive tagging, automation, tailored insights, and managing your organisation’s complexity at scale.
Resource Tagging
A thoughtfully crafted resource tagging strategy is foundational for detailed cost allocation. Toolkit reports can visualise costs based on tags, but the specific strategy is crucial.
For multi-subscription or cross-tenant scenarios, enforce tag hygiene programmatically through Azure Policy. Implement a hierarchical tagging model that corresponds to business units, cost centres, and applications.
For shared services, such as Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), devise methods for allocating costs based on consumption or established keys, using tags to define the allocation logic. This level of granularity is essential for accurate showbacks and chargebacks.
Automation Workflows
Move beyond basic start/stop scripts to employ advanced automation workflows, powered by toolkit modules and integrated with Azure Logic Apps or Functions. Create workflows that automatically implement validated Azure Advisor recommendations from AOE or design “sweeper” scripts that consistently identify and rectify orphaned resources based on custom AOE criteria.
In large-scale deployments, you can automate rightsizing by collecting performance data into AOE and producing specific recommendations. Subsequently, either generate automated change requests or apply adjustments within dev/test environments.
Custom Dashboards
Although organisations can leverage provided Power BI reports, creating custom dashboards tailored to stakeholder needs unveils much deeper insights and actionable outcomes. Integrate open data resources from the toolkit to enrich cost data with service mappings. Design dashboards that monitor the financial repercussions of new optimisations, such as savings from Azure Hybrid Benefit or commitment discounts.
For larger deployments, enhance custom dashboard performance by refining DAX queries and data models in Power BI, especially when processing data from multiple subscriptions or a significant FinOps hub.
AI-Powered Insights
While toolkit components don’t natively include advanced AI capabilities, their extensibility allows for such integration. Utilise data from FinOps hubs or AOE as a foundational source for your machine learning models—this can help predict cost surges, identify subtle anomalies, or forecast optimal times for commitment purchases, shifting your approach from reactive analysis to predictive automation.
Adopting these advanced strategies—ranging from systematic tagging and sophisticated automation to bespoke dashboards—transforms the Azure FinOps Toolkit into a dynamic powerhouse for ongoing cost optimisation.
Enhancing Azure Cost Management with Turbo360
In summary, the Azure FinOps Toolkit provides a valuable open-source starting point for FinOps. It equips teams with the foundational elements for cost visibility, initial optimisation, and basic automation. However, as organisations pursue deeper financial control, seamless automation, and comprehensive business alignment across intricate Azure environments, the necessity for a more integrated and robust platform becomes apparent.
The toolkit serves as a basic framework—Turbo360 delivers an enterprise-grade structure designed to elevate your FinOps functionality to unprecedented levels.
While the Azure FinOps Toolkit may require substantial customisation and ongoing maintenance to reach advanced use cases, Turbo360’s all-encompassing solutions provide the necessary capabilities right out of the box. The platform specifically addresses the complexities of managing multi-subscription environments by offering both a unified perspective and detailed control, negating the need to combine disparate elements.
Think of Turbo360 as the accelerator for your FinOps journey, supplying the advanced functionality that mature environments demand. Where the Azure FinOps Toolkit presents basic Power BI reports and AOE for simple custom logic, Turbo360 enhances these practices with its Business Mapping Engine and Continuous Optimisation Engine, both of which deliver actionable insights on a daily basis.
Automated tasks—like scheduling non-production environments to power down—go beyond mere scripting, delivering tangible cost savings with minimal manual input required. Additionally, Turbo360’s trend-based forecasting and real-time budget tracking provide a level of predictive financial oversight that standard toolkit elements struggle to match.
Turbo360 excels by not just delivering data, but also context, control, and assurance. If your aim is to rise above the manual configurations and piecemeal assembly commonly associated with open-source tools, it’s time to discover Turbo360 and adopt a fully integrated platform that ensures remarkable and sustainable Azure cost reductions.
