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Case study · FinOps · Azure

USD 3,000 a month in Azure savings unlocked

When a US communications company was preparing to expand its Azure investment, our focused assessment identified savings opportunities across licensing, commitments, region placement and modernisation. It also caught a Microsoft Fabric reservation a day out from expiry – giving the team time to renew it before pay-as-you-go pricing returned.

Industry
Telecommunications, including internet and fibre services in the US
Cloud estate
Microsoft Fabric, Windows VMs, App Service Plans and emerging AI agents
Scope
Initial Azure FinOps assessment and AI cost control guidance
Engagement
May 2026
Client time
Read-only discovery and findings walkthrough

Savings potential

~USD 3k/moTotal opportunity identified in the assessment
~USD 1k/moQuick wins, including licensing changes
~USD 1.5k/moPotential from moving suitable workloads to US West 2
~USD 500/moPotential from VM and App Service modernisation

The challenge: assess costs ahead of cloud expansion

The company has a relatively small Azure estate, but Microsoft Fabric is a major workload and further cloud investment is planned. The team needed a clear view of where money could be saved without adding a long discovery process to its workload.

Several decisions needed attention at once:

  • Windows VMs were running at full Azure rates despite existing licences that could support Azure Hybrid Benefit.
  • A Fabric reservation was due to expire the following day, exposing the largest workload to a higher rate.
  • Region placement and older compute SKUs created further potential savings, while Copilot Studio agent costs needed reviewing.

The approach: drill down on the decisions that move the dial

Our Cloud Cost Champions used read-only cost and configuration data, then concentrated on the few changes with the largest likely effect. The findings were ranked by effort and discussed with the customer in one working session.

  1. Phase 1

    Mapping the estate without disrupting the team

    We reviewed spend by service and region, existing licence rights, reservation coverage and expiry dates, compute configuration and the first Copilot Studio agents. The client did not have to deploy an agent or change its infrastructure for the assessment.

    A working picture of the estate with minimal demand on client teams.

  2. Phase 2

    Ranking the savings by effort

    We identified Azure Hybrid Benefit and other quick changes worth around USD 1,000 a month. A move from US West to US West 2 could be worth about USD 1,500 a month for suitable services, subject to a placement review. Updating older VMs and App Service Plans and removing unnecessary temporary disks accounted for a further estimated USD 500 a month.

    Around USD 3,000 a month in identified potential, with a practical order for action.

  3. Phase 3

    Catching the Fabric renewal before expiry

    During the findings walkthrough, we flagged that Microsoft Fabric reservation expired the next day. The team scheduled renewal action that day. Allowing it to lapse would have moved the estate’s dominant workload to pay-as-you-go pricing at roughly 40% more.

    The reservation renewal was actioned before the higher rate took effect.

  4. Phase 4

    Separating useful changes from unnecessary ones

    We confirmed the storage estate was already well configured and found no material saving on a new workload the company had costed itself. For its new AI agents, we introduced a route to track credit and token spend; the company planned a weekly review as usage grows.

    A cost review cadence that can develop alongside the cloud estate.

In the client’s words

As we were new to FinOps and cloud optimisation, we needed a partner who could show our decision makers why investing in upskilling and an end-to-end FinOps practice matters. The team at samcloud delivered exactly that insight – and in a two-week review, identified savings of close to $40K a year.

The results

WorkstreamStarting pointOutcome
LicensingWindows VMs at full Azure ratesWithin ~USD 1k/month quick winsAzure Hybrid Benefit with existing licences.
Fabric commitmentReservation expiring the next dayRenewal actioned the same dayRoughly 40% pay-as-you-go premium avoided.
Region placementWorkloads in US West~USD 1.5k/month potentialUS West 2 for suitable services.
ModernisationOlder VM and App Service SKUs; temp disks~USD 500/month potentialUpdated SKUs and avoidable disks.
Total identified savings potential~USD 3k/month

These are assessed opportunities, not measured recurring savings. Only the Fabric renewal was confirmed as actioned. Conflicting source figures for total spend rule out a percentage claim.

Why it worked

  • Top line review, high value savings

    Licensing, commitments and placement carried most of the opportunity.

  • Catching the expiry on time

    The Fabric renewal was raised before a higher rate took effect.

  • Recommendations followed the evidence

    No storage changes were proposed where there was no material saving.

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