Explanation
Why the waste happens and who it affects.
When a VM operates well below its capacity for an extended period, it presents an opportunity to reduce costs through rightsizing. Without regular usage reviews, these inefficiencies can persist indefinitely.
Billing model
The pricing dimensions that drive this cost.
Azure VMs are billed based on:
- VM size and family - Larger or more powerful VMs incur higher per-hour rates
- Uptime - Charged for the number of full minutes the VM runs; extra seconds are not billed
- Managed disk and network usage
How to detect
5 checks to find it in your estate.
- Analyze average CPU and memory utilization of running VM's to determine
- Review whether application requirements justify the current VM size
- Evaluate if the workload would perform similarly on a lower SKU within the same VM series
- Confirm that performance, licensing, or compatibility constraints don't require oversizing
- Validate with stakeholders whether the VM can be resized without impact
How to fix
How to remove the waste.
Resize the VM to a smaller SKU that aligns with observed usage. For unpredictable workloads, consider implementing VM scale sets or burstable VM types (e.g., B-series). Periodically audit VM sizing as part of environment hygiene.
Documentation
Vendor references for pricing and configuration.