The vision: Customer-obsessed operations driven by optimized cloud approach
As a cloud-first business, this client’s Center of Excellence (CoE) team leverages Azure for a host of benefits — from speed of service to greater flexibility, a unified delivery pipeline and more. But with a growth in its Azure® subscriptions, the CoE team saw an opportunity to optimize costs and take a strategic approach to consumption.
A recipe for success
Previously, this client had partnered with Insight for software licensing. Leaning on our holistic technology expertise, the client asked us to take a closer look at its cloud financial management.
This started with a Financial Governance and Cost Optimization Assessment to understand how the client was currently managing finances in Azure. Using the assessment’s findings, our team conducted a DevOps and Cloud Financial Governance Workshop — partnering with the client’s cloud CoE team and other key stakeholders — to analyze current expenditures in Azure and provide recommendations.
Together, our teams:
- Identified potential areas for optimization
- Set clear goals for cloud objectives
- Established appropriate cloud governance policies
- Implemented FinOps to prevent future waste
The client responded positively to the workshop findings and appointed Insight to build a FinOps app, which would help manage the cost savings uncovered through the assessment and prevent future overspending in Azure. The app enables the client to display cost savings via a dashboard with Application Programming Interface (API) integration that can easily connect to the client’s existing financial systems.
OCM for lasting benefits
Strong FinOps would ensure maximum business value in the cloud and change management would ensure long-term adoption. Leveraging our deep expertise in OCM methodologies, Insight helped the client set a strong cultural foundation to make the most of its newfound FinOps principles and business application.
The outcome: Smooth cloud operations — and more than 5 million in savings
The assessment, workshop and go-forward guidance from Insight resulted in more than $5M annual savings across 300 subscriptions — roughly 20% of the client’s annual Azure spend. The client has also benefitted from greater visibility with its new FinOps app. As of 2022, Insight is developing additional apps, one of which is a registration app used to manage the client’s gift cards — once hosted on-premises and in the process of being migrated to Azure for a full cloud experience. The app is expected to provide significant ROI for the client’s team. It is estimated to decrease operational spending, increase efficiency and boost productivity. The app will also come with disaster recovery capabilities and a data repository accessible to internal members.
Thriving for the long haul
Maximizing a cloud investment in the midst of rapid growth showcases this client’s commitment to strategic operations. Now, with better visibility across assets, massive cost savings and a best-practices approach to cloud consumption, the client will continue to improve the critical back-end operations needed to support its renowned customer experience.