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Case Study: Azure Cost Optimization for Intelia

Company: Intelia
Industry: Technology
Objective: To reduce Azure cloud costs while optimizing performance and resource usage.

About Intelia: Founded in 1999, Intelia has acquired a comprehensive understanding of the livestock farming process and the challenges faced by producers. Determined to provide the livestock industry with smart production data, Intelia delivers non-brand-specific, fully integrated digital solutions that streamline operations. They handle everything, including third-party integrations, making the adoption of these technologies easy for any organization. Located in Joliette, near Montreal—a hub of artificial intelligence development—Intelia leverages the latest digital technologies and advanced analytics to connect farms with the broader livestock production chain, providing real-time information for better decision-making. Their predictive models enable proactive flock management, boosting both productivity and profitability. As their operations expanded, managing Azure cloud costs effectively became a significant challenge, prompting a need for cost optimization solutions.

Challenge

Intelia, like many organizations using Microsoft Azure, found itself with rising cloud expenses due to underutilized resources, orphaned virtual machines, and insufficient cost management practices. Over a six-month period, Intelia experienced a steady rise in Azure spending, with the majority of costs attributed to virtual machines (VMs) and storage solutions. Despite having a robust cloud infrastructure, Intelia faced challenges in maintaining cost efficiency.

Key issues identified:

  • Underutilized virtual machines with low CPU utilization.
  • Expensive storage solutions for development environments where cheaper options could suffice.
  • Orphaned resources contributing to unnecessary expenses.
  • A lack of budgetary controls to forecast and manage Azure spending.

Solution by Danilix

Danilix conducted a comprehensive Azure cost analysis and identified several areas where costs could be reduced while maintaining optimal performance. The primary goal was to provide Intelia with actionable recommendations to lower expenses without disrupting their cloud operations.

Key Recommendations

  1. Right-Sizing or Shutting Down Underutilized Virtual Machines
    Danilix identified VMs that were operating well below capacity and recommended either resizing or shutting them down to save costs.
    • For example, resizing one VM could reduce costs by approximately 10-15% annually.
  2. Purchasing a Savings Plan for Compute
    Danilix recommended Intelia consider a savings plan for compute resources, which could unlock discounts for committed usage.
    • This approach could lead to potential savings of around 20% by committing to a reduced hourly usage rate.
  3. Switching from Premium SSD to Standard LRS for Development Environments
    Intelia was using Premium SSDs for development environments, which are not as performance-sensitive as production environments. Danilix recommended switching to Standard LRS, which could result in significant savings.
    • Changing disk types for select VMs could reduce storage costs by up to 30% annually.
  4. Removing Orphaned Resources
    Danilix used Azure Workbook to identify orphaned resources, including unused public IPs and disks. Removing these orphaned resources was an easy and effective way to eliminate unnecessary costs.
    • Potential savings of up to 5% annually from removing orphaned resources.
  5. Implementing Azure Monitor for Better Workload Visibility
    To improve ongoing cost management, Danilix suggested implementing Azure Monitor across all resources to provide better insights into usage patterns. This would allow Intelia to make more informed decisions about resource allocation and optimization in the future.
  6. Creating Azure Budgets for Financial Accountability
    Danilix recommended setting up Azure budgets and configuring alerts when spending exceeds thresholds. This would help Intelia proactively manage its cloud costs by notifying the organization before expenses exceed the budget.

Outcome

By implementing Danilix’s cost optimization strategies, Intelia stood to save over 60-70% of its cloud spending related to identified inefficiencies, representing a significant reduction in Azure spending. These savings were achieved without sacrificing performance or scaling down critical services.

In addition to the immediate cost savings, Intelia was also set to benefit from:

  • Increased visibility into cloud spending and performance.
  • Automated alerts for budget overruns, helping maintain financial transparency.
  • Improved resource allocation, ensuring that Azure resources are used efficiently.

Conclusion

Intelia’s Azure cost challenges were effectively addressed by leveraging the expertise of Danilix in cloud cost optimization. By focusing on key areas such as VM resizing, storage optimization, and removing unnecessary resources, Intelia was able to reduce their cloud expenditure significantly while maintaining a high level of performance.

This case study highlights the importance of regular cloud cost analysis and optimization in maintaining a sustainable cloud environment. With the right tools and strategies, businesses like Intelia can enjoy the benefits of the cloud without overspending.

Useful Resources:

Hashtags: #AzureCostManagement #CloudOptimization #CostSavings #AzureBestPractices

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