What is Azure Advisor?
Azure Advisor is a free, intelligent cloud consultant from Microsoft Azure that analyzes your Azure resources and provides personalized optimization recommendations. The service continuously examines your configurations and usage patterns, comparing them against Microsoft best practices. Based on this, you receive concrete action recommendations across five categories: Cost, Security, Reliability, Operational Excellence, and Performance.
Unlike generic monitoring tools, Advisor understands the context of your resources and their relationships. For example, if you’re running an oversized VM, Advisor not only suggests a smaller instance but also considers CPU utilization patterns from the last 7-14 days. For unused ExpressRoute connections, orphaned disks, or over-provisioned App Service Plans, you receive detailed cost savings potential in euros per month.
Recommendations are prioritized by impact level (High, Medium, Low) and show estimated savings or improvements. You can implement recommendations directly from the portal (e.g., change VM size) or mark them as reminders for later. Through Azure Policy, Advisor recommendations can be automated, such as automatically shutting down unused resources outside business hours.
Typical Use Cases
Cost Optimization After Cloud Migration
Companies freshly migrated to Azure often run oversized resources “for safety.” Advisor identifies VMs with average CPU utilization under 5%, unused Reserved Instances, or public IPs without associated resources. In a typical enterprise setup with 200+ resources, 20-30% savings potential through rightsizing and cleanup of unused assets is common.
Security Compliance for Regulated Industries
Financial services and healthcare organizations use Advisor to proactively close security gaps. The service detects publicly exposed Storage Accounts without firewall rules, missing Multi-Factor Authentication for privileged accounts, or outdated TLS versions. Integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides additional security context and compliance scores (ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA).
Performance Tuning for E-Commerce Platforms
Online shops with fluctuating traffic receive recommendations for auto-scaling configurations, CDN usage for static assets, or geo-replication of databases. Advisor detects SQL databases with frequent timeout errors and suggests indexing optimizations or higher service tiers. For App Services with high latency, Premium plans with VNET integration are recommended.
Reliability Improvements for SaaS Applications
Multi-tenant SaaS platforms require high availability. Advisor warns against single points of failure: VMs without Availability Sets, databases without geo-replication, or missing health probes on Load Balancers. For production-critical workloads, the service recommends Availability Zones, automatic backups with point-in-time restore, and disaster recovery configurations.
Operational Excellence Through Automation
DevOps teams use Advisor recommendations as input for Infrastructure as Code. Recurring patterns (e.g., “all dev VMs should be shut down at night”) are automated via Azure Automation or Logic Apps. Integration with Azure Monitor Workbooks visualizes Advisor metrics in custom dashboards. Export via REST API enables integration into external ITSM tools like ServiceNow.
Azure Advisor vs. Alternatives
When choosing a cloud optimization tool, the question of alternatives often arises. Azure Advisor competes with comparable services from other cloud providers:
- AWS: Trusted Advisor
- Google Cloud: Recommender
While functionality is similar, services differ in depth and breadth of recommendations. AWS Trusted Advisor offers only basic checks in the free version; comprehensive recommendations require Business or Enterprise Support (starting at $100/month). Azure Advisor is completely free without support plan dependency. Google Cloud Recommender primarily focuses on cost optimization, while Advisor covers all five categories equally.
Best Practices for Azure Advisor
Review Recommendations Regularly
Schedule weekly reviews of high-impact recommendations. Use filter options by category and impact level to focus on quick wins. Export recommendations as CSV for stakeholder reports. Define ownership per category: Security team for security recommendations, FinOps for cost optimization.
Use Postpone Function Strategically
Mark consciously ignored recommendations as “postponed” with justification instead of dismissing them. Example: “VM size intentionally oversized for load testing.” This prevents the same recommendation from reappearing and documents decisions for audits.
Integration with Azure Policy
Automate frequent recommendations via Azure Policy. Example: Policy that automatically enables Defender for Cloud on all Storage Accounts. Or auto-shutdown schedules for dev/test resources outside business hours. Advisor recommendations become Policy rules that enforce compliance.
Cost Optimization with Reserved Instances
Use Advisor recommendations for Reserved Instances and Savings Plans. The service analyzes your usage patterns from the last 30 days and calculates exact savings with 1- or 3-year commitments. Typical savings: 30-40% for VMs, 65% for SQL databases. Combine with Azure Hybrid Benefit for additional discounts.
API Integration for Automation
Use the Advisor REST API to integrate recommendations into custom dashboards or ITSM workflows. Example: Daily Slack bot posting new high-impact recommendations. Or Jira tickets for security recommendations with automatic assignment to the security team.
Frequently Asked Questions about Azure Advisor
What does Azure Advisor cost?
Azure Advisor is completely free, regardless of the number of your Azure resources or subscriptions. There are no fees for recommendations or their implementation. Cost savings from implemented recommendations typically exceed 20-30% of monthly Azure bills.
How often does Advisor update its recommendations?
Recommendations are continuously updated based on 7-14 days of usage data. Security recommendations appear immediately upon configuration changes. Cost and performance recommendations require at least one week of metrics for statistical relevance. You can manually trigger a refresh, but the service automatically updates daily.
Can I ignore or customize Advisor recommendations?
Yes, via the “Postpone” or “Dismiss” function. Postpone delays the recommendation for a defined period (e.g., 90 days), Dismiss removes it permanently. Both actions require justification for audit trails. Through Advisor configurations, you can adjust thresholds, such as CPU utilization for rightsizing recommendations.
How does Advisor differ from Azure Monitor?
Azure Monitor collects metrics and logs for observability; Advisor delivers actionable recommendations based on this data. Monitor shows you that a VM is 90% idle; Advisor specifically recommends switching to a B-Series and calculates the savings. Both services complement each other: Monitor for diagnostics, Advisor for optimization.
Does Advisor work for on-premises resources?
Yes, via Azure Arc. Connect on-premises servers, Kubernetes clusters, or VMware VMs with Azure Arc to receive Advisor recommendations. This includes security patches, monitoring agent updates, or Hybrid Benefit optimizations. Arc-enabled servers appear in Advisor like native Azure resources.
What recommendation categories does Advisor offer?
Advisor covers five categories: Cost (rightsizing, unused Reserved Instances), Security (open ports, missing MFA), Reliability (Availability Zones, backup configurations), Operational Excellence (tagging, monitoring), Performance (auto-scaling, CDN usage). Each category has its own thresholds and impact levels.
Can I use Advisor in multi-tenant environments?
Yes, Advisor works via Azure Lighthouse for Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Delegate customer subscriptions and see aggregated recommendations across all tenants. Filter by customer, subscription, or resource group. Perfect for MSPs centrally optimizing multiple customers.
How does Advisor integrate with Cost Management?
Advisor cost recommendations appear directly in Azure Cost Management + Billing. There you see savings potential alongside actual costs. Budgets can use Advisor metrics as alerts: “Notify me when ignored cost recommendations exceed €1,000 in savings.” Export via Power BI for executive dashboards.
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Azure Partner, innFactory supports you in integrating and optimizing Azure Advisor. We help with architecture, migration, operations, and cost optimization.
Contact us for a non-binding consultation on Azure Advisor and Microsoft Azure.
