Allocation
Give reporting cost an owner.
Cost groups and virtual tags change how CloudMonitor allocates spend. They do not rewrite tags on the Azure resource.
Azure FinOps on Microsoft Fabric
Azure FinOps built for the decisions behind the bill.
CloudMonitor turns Azure billing data, led by a FOCUS export, into allocation and review queues. Workload access stays read-only; your team decides what changes.
Certified software for Azure. CloudMonitor holds Microsoft's Solutions Partner with certified software for Azure designation. What the designation means ↗
- FOCUS 1.2-preview
- Azure cost input
- 4 Domains
- Current Framework
- 22 Capabilities
- Current Framework
- Read-only
- Billing and resource metadata
FinOps Framework applied
Move from a framework term to the decision it supports.
The current FinOps Framework has four Domains and 22 Capabilities. CloudMonitor supports work across all four Domains; individual features depend on the workflow and plan.
- 01
Understand Usage & Cost
Bring billed and effective Azure cost into one model, then allocate it by cost group, tag, and owner.
Which team owns this cost, and what changed?
Explore this Domain → - 02
Quantify business value
Put budgets, forecasts, KPIs, and business context beside the spend they explain.
Is the spend within plan, and what value does it support?
Explore this Domain → - 03
Optimize Usage & Cost
Review usage, licensing, and rate opportunities with the affected resource and projected saving in view.
Which change is worth engineering review first?
Explore this Domain → - 04
Manage the FinOps practice
Give cost groups, governance rules, assessment work, and chargeback or invoicing workflows a named operating owner.
Who reviews the evidence, and what happens next?
Explore this Domain →
Framework terminology follows the FinOps Foundation Framework ↗ under CC BY 4.0.
Product boundaries
Keep ownership, cost basis, and action separate.
CloudMonitor changes the reporting and review context. It does not change the Azure resource.
Investigation
Keep the cost basis visible.
Reports separate billed and effective cost so a period comparison starts from the basis the reviewer intends to explain.
Optimization
Rank supported opportunities.
The Savings and Waste view groups rightsizing, idle or orphaned resources, and storage opportunities by potential monthly saving.
Azure commitment review
Reduce the baseline before you commit to it.
A lower rate does not fix idle or oversized demand. Review licensing and usage first, measure the stable floor, then compare the commitment instruments that fit it.
- 01
Set the eligible license baseline.
Identify Windows and SQL workloads that can use Azure Hybrid Benefit before comparing commitment options.
- 02
Remove demand you do not need.
Review idle resources, schedules, storage tiers, and rightsizing candidates before locking in a spend floor.
- 03
Measure the stable floor.
Use effective cost, coverage, utilization, and workload evidence across a representative period, not one busy month.
- 04
Choose and monitor the commitment.
Compare Reservations and Savings Plans against that floor. Keep the recommendation read-only until the accountable owner approves the purchase.
Commitment coverage and utilization depend on the billing agreement, billing scope, and supported reservation data available to CloudMonitor.
Tooling decision
Choose how much of the FinOps platform your team wants to operate.
Azure Cost Management, the Microsoft FinOps Toolkit, and CloudMonitor solve different operating-model problems. Start with who will own the data, reports, upgrades, and support.
Native baseline
Azure Cost Management
Use the built-in Azure source, exports, and native views when baseline cost visibility is enough.
Review Microsoft documentation →Build and operate
Microsoft FinOps Toolkit
Use Microsoft's open-source modules when your team wants to assemble and operate its own data and Power BI solution.
Review the Toolkit →Managed product
CloudMonitor
Use a managed platform when you want reports, allocation controls, investigations, and cost governance without owning the BI and data engineering stack.
See how CloudMonitor works →Published customer evidence
Read the result in the customer's own context.
These are named outcomes from individual customer stories, not a promised saving for every Azure estate.
46%
Clinic to Cloud
reduction in Azure cost in the published customer story.
Read the customer story →22%
Transport for NSW
reduction in data-lake operating cost in the published customer story.
Read the customer story →32%
XContent
reduction in one customer's cloud spend in the published partner story.
Read the customer story →Azure FinOps FAQ
Questions to settle before you connect Azure billing.
What is Azure FinOps?
Azure FinOps applies the FinOps Framework to Azure cost and usage. Teams allocate spend, compare it with plans and business context, review usage and rate opportunities, and assign ownership for the next decision.
What Azure data does CloudMonitor use?
CloudMonitor reads a scheduled FOCUS export and supporting billing datasets, plus the resource metadata needed for supported reports. Workload, billing, and resource-metadata access is read-only. A dedicated export storage account grants a scoped management role only to create and run the scheduled export. CloudMonitor does not read the application data inside your Azure resources.
How is CloudMonitor different from Azure Cost Management and the Microsoft FinOps Toolkit?
Azure Cost Management is the native starting point. The Microsoft FinOps Toolkit provides open-source components for teams that want to build and operate their own solution. CloudMonitor is a managed Microsoft Fabric platform with reports, allocation controls, investigations, and review queues.
How long does an Azure billing connection take?
The CloudMonitor installation normally takes a couple of hours. Total elapsed time depends on how quickly an Azure administrator approves the application, grants the required scoped roles, and makes the FOCUS export available.
See Azure FinOps against a sample billing estate.
Open the read-only public demo, or review the platform and installation path first.
