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vinayaklatthevinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills/skills/azure-pricing/SKILL.md

azure-pricing

Skill179 starsChanged 5 months agoMITView on GitHub

Guidance for estimating and reasoning about the cost of Azure security services — using the Azure Pricing Calculator, understanding key cost drivers (Sentinel ingestion, Defender plans, Key Vault operations), and cost-optimization levers. WHEN: Azure security pricing, estimate cost, Sentinel cost, Defender for Cloud pricing, pricing calculator, cost drivers, optimize security spend, ingestion cost, licensing vs consumption, budget for security.

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

1 rule. 0 are common, 1 is distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

  • 0

    Common

    Most of the 3 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 1

    Distinctive

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 0

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Distinctive:

    Don't disable needed protection purely for cost.

    line 42

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 3 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

Azure Security Pricing & Cost Estimation

Security services on Azure mix consumption-based (e.g., data ingestion, transactions) and per-resource/seat pricing. This skill helps reason about and estimate costs and identify optimisation levers. Always confirm current rates on official pricing pages.

When to use

Producing a cost estimate or optimising spend for a security solution.

Key cost drivers

  • Microsoft Sentinel — Driven mainly by data ingestion (per GB) and retention. Use Commitment Tiers, route low-value logs to Auxiliary/Basic logs or ADX, and avoid duplicate ingestion.
  • Defender for Cloud — Foundational CSPM is free; Defender plans are per-resource (e.g., per server/hour, per 10K transactions, per vCore). Enable plans where risk justifies.
  • Microsoft Defender XDR / Purview / Entra ID P2 — Largely per-user licensing (E5 / add-ons) rather than consumption.
  • Key Vault — Per-operation (secrets/keys/certs) and HSM pool charges (Managed HSM).
  • Azure Firewall / Front Door / DDoS — Deployment + data processing charges.

Approach

  1. List components and identify which are consumption vs licensed.
  2. Estimate quantities — e.g., Sentinel daily GB, number of protected servers/resources.
  3. Use the Pricing Calculator to model the estimate; add it to the workload TCO.
  4. Apply optimisation — commitment tiers, log tiering, right-size Defender plan coverage, remove unused resources.
  5. Validate licensing — Confirm whether E5/add-ons already cover a capability before adding consumption cost.

Guardrails

  • Pricing changes — always verify against the live pricing page and your agreement (EA/MCA/CSP).
  • Sentinel ingestion is the most common cost surprise — plan log tiering up front.
  • Don't disable needed protection purely for cost; optimise scope instead.

Example prompts

  • Estimate the cost of Microsoft Sentinel and Defender for Cloud for my environment.
  • What are the main cost drivers for Microsoft security services?
  • How do I optimise security spend across licensing and consumption?
  • Help me budget for security ingestion and per-resource Defender plans.

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