AZ-104 Microsoft Azure Administrator Exam

Implement Subscription Policies and Billing Management

Billing and Cost Management

Billing Management is essential in Azure for effectively handling costs, subscriptions, and invoices. The Billing section in the Azure portal provides users with a comprehensive set of tools to manage their billing accounts, pay invoices, and analyze expenses. Understanding Cost Management allows you to gain insight into expenses at various organizational levels, such as subscriptions, resource groups, and management groups. This integration helps users optimize workloads efficiently.

Some key features to note in this area include:

• Invoice Management: Users can view and pay invoices, configure billing addresses, and manage purchase orders seamlessly.
• Cost Analysis: Advanced reporting and analytics tools, such as Power BI, are available for detailed examination and understanding of expenditures.
• Exports and APIs: These enable integration of cost details into external systems for efficient cost management workflows.

Organize and Allocate Costs

Organizing and allocating costs correctly is crucial for processes like internal billing and chargeback. Azure offers multiple ways to group resources and subscriptions, enhancing the efficiency of cost management. Here are some methods used for organizing costs:

• Billing Profiles and Invoice Sections: Allows grouping subscriptions into distinct invoices for separate business units.
• Departments and Enrollment Accounts: Similar to invoice sections but applied in cost details for further organizational insights.
• Management Groups: Useful for grouping subscriptions with inherited access and compliance rules, promoting streamlined management practices.
• Resource Tags: These add business context to cost details, useful for applications, business units, and different environments.

Monitor Costs with Alerts

Proactive cost management is crucial in Azure, where various alerts help users stay ahead of unexpected charges. Some important alerts available include:

• Budget Alerts: Notify users when spending exceeds predefined budget limits, helping prevent overspending.
• Anomaly Alerts: These are used to detect unexpected charges due to unusual resource usage patterns.
• Scheduled Alerts: Provide regular updates on current cost status, ensuring continuous monitoring of expenses.

Subscription Policies

Subscription policies play a vital role in enforcing governance and optimizing resource allocation. These policies help users manage access to cost data efficiently while ensuring compliance with organizational standards. Here are some components of subscription policies:

• Enable Access to Costs: Configure settings that provide the necessary visibility into various cost scopes for different users.
• Reservation Management: Involves managing Azure reservations to achieve optimal cost savings without compromising performance.

Conclusion

In summary, effective billing management and well-defined subscription policies in Azure are essential for efficient resource utilization and adherence to organizational requirements. By utilizing tools like Cost Management, billing profiles, and proactive alerts, organizations can optimize their cloud expenditure while maintaining comprehensive control over their Azure environment.