---
title: Getting started with the CloudMonitor Fabric Workload
canonical: "https://cloudmonitor.ai/docs/cloudmonitor-fabric-beta/getting-started-with-the-cloudmonitor-app/"
description: "Add CloudMonitor to your Microsoft Fabric workspace, connect it to your semantic model, and tour the Inform, Optimize, and Operate screens."
---

import PrintButton from '~/components/docs/PrintButton.astro';

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CloudMonitor gives you full cloud cost visibility, optimization recommendations, and anomaly detection — directly inside Microsoft Fabric. This guide takes you from adding the app to your Fabric workspace through to touring its screens. By the end you'll have CloudMonitor connected to your cost data and know where each report lives.

## Before you start

You'll need:

- Access to a **Microsoft Fabric** workspace.
- The **CloudMonitor semantic model** in that workspace. It's created when CloudMonitor is connected to your Azure cost data — see [Granting CloudMonitor access to your Azure environment](/docs/cloudmonitor-fabric-beta/granting-cloudmonitor-access-to-your-azure-environment/) and [Architecture and data flow](/docs/cloudmonitor-fabric-beta/architecture-and-data-flow/).
- A work or school account to sign in.

Just want to look around? Skip to [Step 5 — Try the demo](#step-5--try-the-demo): it runs on sample data with no sign-in.

## Step 1 — Add CloudMonitor to your workspace

1. Open Microsoft Fabric and go to your workspace.
2. In the workspace toolbar, click **+ New item**.
3. Search for **CloudMonitor** in the item gallery.
4. Click **CloudMonitor** to add it to your workspace.

Once added, the CloudMonitor item appears in your workspace. Click it to open the app.

## Step 2 — Connect your data

The first time you open CloudMonitor, you'll see the connection screen. It needs two IDs from the Fabric workspace that holds your CloudMonitor semantic model:

- **Workspace ID** (Customer ID) — the ID of the Fabric workspace that contains your CloudMonitor semantic model.
- **Semantic Model ID** (Customer Key) — the dataset ID of the CloudMonitor semantic model.

### Find your Workspace ID

1. In Fabric, open the workspace that contains your semantic model.
2. Look at the browser URL — it contains a GUID:
   `https://app.fabric.microsoft.com/groups/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/...`
3. Copy that GUID — it's your Workspace ID.

### Find your Semantic Model ID

1. In the same workspace, click your CloudMonitor semantic model to open it.
2. Check the URL:
   `https://app.fabric.microsoft.com/groups/<workspace-id>/modeling/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/...`
3. Copy the second GUID — it's your Semantic Model ID.

### Sign in

Enter both IDs and click **Continue**. A Microsoft sign-in prompt appears — sign in with your organizational account. CloudMonitor verifies the connection to your semantic model and loads your data.

## Step 3 — Explore the app

After connecting, you land on the **Overview** dashboard. The app is organized into three FinOps phases in the left navigation rail: **Inform**, **Optimize**, and **Operate**.

### Overview

Your at-a-glance cost summary — total spend, period-over-period trends, cost by group, and any active anomalies. Use the filter bar at the top to slice by provider, cost group, time period, virtual tags, or cost basis (billed vs. effective).

### Phase 1 — Inform

Understand where your money is going.

| Screen | What it shows |
| --- | --- |
| The Ledger | Full cost bill — drill into any dimension (service, subscription, region, tag, cost group) |
| Explorer | Cost breakdown across providers and dimensions |
| Unallocated Costs | Spend not yet assigned to a cost group |
| Unit Economics | Cost per unit of business value (requests, users, GB, and so on) |
| AI Spend | Cloud AI service costs (Azure OpenAI and similar) |
| Microsoft 365 | Microsoft 365 licensing, usage, and spend |
| Reports | Saved cost snapshots |

### Phase 2 — Optimize

Find and act on savings opportunities.

| Screen | What it shows |
| --- | --- |
| Commitments | Reserved instance and savings plan coverage, utilization, and chargeback |
| Savings | Optimization recommendations ranked by potential savings |
| Anomalies | Cost spikes and dips, with workflow actions (dismiss, postpone, investigate) |
| WAF Recommendations | Well-Architected Framework guidance across five pillars |

### Phase 3 — Operate

Manage your cloud resources and Fabric platform.

| Screen | What it shows |
| --- | --- |
| Search Resources | Full Azure resource inventory with cost per resource |
| Virtual Machines | VM-level cost and utilization drill-down |
| Fabric | Fabric workspace governance, capacity metrics, and chargeback |

## Step 4 — Adjust your profile

Open the account menu (top right) to:

- **Switch persona** — CFO, Engineer, or Project Owner, which changes the Overview focus.
- **Toggle light or dark theme.**
- **Disconnect** — clears your stored IDs and returns you to the connection screen.

## Step 5 — Try the demo

Not ready to connect your own data? Click **View the demo** on the connection screen to explore CloudMonitor with sample data — no sign-in required.

:::tip[Need help?]
- Documentation: [cloudmonitor.ai/docs](/docs/)
- Support: [support@cloudmonitor.ai](mailto:support@cloudmonitor.ai)
- Service status: [status.cloudmonitor.ai](https://status.cloudmonitor.ai/)
:::

## Related

- [Granting CloudMonitor access to your Azure environment](/docs/cloudmonitor-fabric-beta/granting-cloudmonitor-access-to-your-azure-environment/) — set up the read-only access that populates your semantic model.
- [Architecture and data flow](/docs/cloudmonitor-fabric-beta/architecture-and-data-flow/) — how CloudMonitor connects to your Azure cost data.
- [What data CloudMonitor can see](/docs/cloudmonitor-fabric-beta/what-data-cloudmonitor-can-see/) — the exact datasets behind these screens.
- [Microsoft Fabric workload attestation](/microsoft-fabric-workload-attestation/) — our published vendor attestation (Section III): security, privacy, compliance, and support for the Fabric workload.