Configure Cloud Cost Management for Microsoft Azure

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Configure Cloud Cost Management for Microsoft Azure

    The Cloud Cost Management application for Microsoft Azure on ServiceNow helps you monitor, analyze, and optimize your Azure cloud spending. It provides tools to discover cloud resources, download billing and pricing data, and generate actionable recommendations to reduce costs. The app requires administrator permissions in Azure and the sysadmin role in ServiceNow, and is not supported on mobile devices.

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    Key Features

    • Cloud Cost Management App Installation: Obtain the app from the ServiceNow Store and activate all necessary supporting plugins to enable full functionality.
    • Role Assignment: Assign appropriate Cloud Cost Management roles to users and groups based on their responsibilities to control access and activities within the application.
    • MID Server Configuration: Configure MID Servers with Service Principal credentials to enable Discovery to connect to your Azure account and retrieve configuration item (CI) data.
    • Resource Discovery: Schedule Discovery jobs to keep your CMDB updated with current Azure cloud resources.
    • Billing Data Management: Schedule jobs that download, organize, and store billing data for your Azure payer account to generate accurate cost reports.
    • Price Sheet Download: Schedule jobs to download Azure price sheets, which are used by cost optimization features to provide recommendations.
    • Cost Optimization Features:
      • Rightsizing: Analyzes resource usage to recommend resizing over-provisioned or underused resources, including confidence ratings and predicted savings.
      • Unused Machines: Identifies resources that are idle and suggests powering off or terminating them to save costs.
      • Business Hours: Applies policies to run resources only during specified business hours and can automate start/stop schedules to reduce spend.
      • Unassigned Resources: Helps identify resources not linked to change groups to ensure proper governance during lifecycle activities such as patching or upgrading.

    Practical Outcomes

    • Gain visibility into your Azure cloud costs and resource utilization within ServiceNow.
    • Automate the collection of billing and pricing data for accurate cost analysis.
    • Receive actionable recommendations to reduce cloud expenses through rightsizing, identifying unused resources, and managing resource usage during business hours.
    • Improve governance by ensuring resources are properly assigned and tracked throughout their lifecycle.
    • Streamline cloud cost management processes via scheduled jobs and integrated discovery tools.

    The Cloud Cost Management application is available on the ServiceNow Store.

    General requirements and limitations

    • Cloud Cost Management isn't supported on mobile devices.
    • Values in reports might vary slightly from provider billing values due to currency conversion or rounding.

    Requirements and limitations for Microsoft Azure

    You must have Microsoft Azure console administrator permissions to work in the Microsoft Azure console

    Download and activate Cloud Cost Management

    Role required: sys_admin

    Step Description Action

    Get the app.

    Get the Cloud Cost Management app from the ServiceNow Store.

    Visit the ServiceNow Store website to get the Cloud Cost Management app and supporting apps.

    Activate all supporting plugins and applications.

    Activate the plugins listed on the ServiceNow Store page for Cloud Cost Management. You might need to request some of the plugins from your ServiceNow representative.

    		 For instructions, see:

    Overview: Setting up Cloud Cost Management

    Here's an overview of your set up process. Detailed instructions appear in the table that follows.

    Setup process for the Cloud Cost Management app

    Navigate to Workspaces > Cloud Cost Management Workspace > Admin. The Admin page enables you to set up a provider and preferences.

    Admin page of the Cloud Cost Management Workspace

    After you set up a provider and assign the insights_owner role, the page displays additional setup activities.

    Note:
    The Configure and Run Discovery card appears only if you use the Discovery application to discover cloud resources.

    Setting up Cloud Cost Management

    Step Description Action

    Assign roles to Cloud Cost Management users and groups.

    You assign Cloud Cost Management roles to user groups and to individual users based on user activities and responsibilities.

    		 Cloud Cost Management roles

    Configuring MID Servers to access CI data on provider accounts for Cloud Cost Management.

    To enable Discovery to communicate with your Microsoft Azure account, you specify your Service Principal credentials while configuring the MID Servers that communicate with your Microsoft Azure account.

    		 Configuring access to CI data on your Microsoft Azure account

    Discover your cloud resources.

    You schedule the Discovery process to ensure that the CMDB data on resources remains current.

    		 Discovering your cloud resources for use

    Schedule and manage the jobs that download billing data for Cloud Cost Management.

    Billing Download jobs download, organize, and store billing data for your payer account on the schedule that you specify. The system analyzes the data to generate reports and to make recommendations for changes in your cloud operations that can lead to cost savings.

    		 Set up access to Microsoft Azure billing and usage data

    Schedule and manage the Cloud Cost Management jobs that download price sheets.

    A Price Sheet Download job downloads and stores price sheet data. The Rightsizing and Unused resources processes use price sheet data when generating recommendations.

    		 Schedule and manage the Cloud Cost Management jobs that download Microsoft Azure price sheets

    Configure the Cloud Cost Management features:

    • Rightsizing
    • Unused Machines
    • Business Hours
    • Unassigned Resources
    • The feature analyzes resource usage to recommend better sizes for resources that are wasting money by being over-provisioned or underused. A confidence rating and predicted savings support each recommendation. You schedule Rightsizing jobs to resize the resources you specify.
    • The Unused Machines feature analyzes usage data to identify resources that are wasting money because they are not used. You schedule Unused Machines jobs to power-off or terminate the resources that you specify.
    • A Business Hours job applies policies to identify resources that are running when they should be powered off, reports them, and can start and stop them on a schedule that you specify. Running only during specified business hours can significantly reduce your cloud spend.
    • Unassigned Resources policies help you to identify the resources that are not associated with a change group and to assign them appropriately. When a resource is assigned to the correct group, the resource can be appropriately governed even as it goes through stages such as patching, upgrading, and reconfiguring.