Global Retailer Reduces Azure Costs by 40%
How we helped a global retailer optimize their Azure infrastructure and reduce costs while improving performance.
Problem
Rapidly growing Azure costs with underutilized resources and inefficient architecture
Solution
Comprehensive cloud optimization using Polaris IaC and automated resource management
Impact
40% cost reduction, 25% performance improvement, and automated scaling
Key Results
- 40% reduction in monthly Azure spending ($180K savings annually)
- 25% improvement in application performance
- 99.9% uptime achieved through automated failover
- Reduced deployment time from 2 days to 2 hours
Challenge
A multinational retail organization was experiencing rapid growth in their Azure costs, reaching over $450,000 annually. Their infrastructure consisted of:
- Over 200 virtual machines, many oversized
- Unoptimized storage configurations
- Manual scaling processes causing delays
- No automated backup or disaster recovery
The finance team flagged cloud spending as a major concern, and the IT team lacked the expertise to optimize the complex Azure environment.
Our Approach
We implemented a three-phase optimization strategy:
Phase 1: Assessment & Analysis
- Conducted comprehensive infrastructure audit
- Identified underutilized and oversized resources
- Analyzed usage patterns and peak demand periods
- Mapped critical vs. non-critical workloads
Phase 2: Infrastructure Optimization
- Right-sized VMs based on actual usage (reduced 60% of VMs by 1-2 tiers)
- Implemented Azure Reserved Instances for predictable workloads (3-year commitment)
- Migrated infrequently accessed data to cool/archive storage tiers
- Configured auto-scaling for web applications
Phase 3: Automation with Polaris
- Deployed infrastructure as code using our Polaris framework
- Automated resource provisioning and deprovisioning
- Implemented policy-based governance
- Set up automated backup and disaster recovery
Results & Impact
The transformation delivered exceptional results:
Cost Savings:
- Monthly Azure spending reduced from $37,500 to $22,500
- Annual savings of $180,000
- ROI achieved in 4 months
Performance Improvements:
- Application response time improved by 25%
- Zero downtime during migration
- Automated scaling handled Black Friday traffic seamlessly
Operational Efficiency:
- Infrastructure deployment time reduced from 2 days to 2 hours
- 99.9% uptime SLA achieved
- Reduced manual intervention by 70%
Client Testimonial
"Croonix transformed our Azure environment from a cost center into a competitive advantage. The team's expertise and the Polaris framework gave us the automation and efficiency we desperately needed."
Client name withheld for confidentiality. All metrics verified by third-party audit.