Sent 6 November
October: EUR 88.9k, up 3.1%, mostly from growth. SQL saving slipped EUR 0.6k; Insights unit cost rose 6%.
EUR 88.9kOctober, provisional
+1.0%vs forecast
EUR 268.5kQ4 for approval, +2.5k
EUR 7.3ka month of savings holding
Approve the SQL fix today; decide three items on 12 Nov.
RecommendationAccountableDecide byConsequence
Next CEO decision: Insights options, 15 DecOverdue: Ledger rebuild date, CTO, 30 Oct; blocks the 31 Jan decisionReview 12 Nov, 45 minutes
01
Insights growth and new Atlas scope drove the EUR 2.7k rise.
September, final
86.2k
Insights AKSCustomer growth
+1.3k
Atlas App ServiceNew scope, no owner
+1.2k
Azure OpenAIInsights reports, growth
+0.6k
Dev SQLSaving slipped: auto-pause off
+0.6k
SQL reservationSaving landed
−1.6k
Other services, netLedger usage, rates
+0.4k
UnexplainedBelow threshold
+0.2k
October, provisional
88.9k
By cause and six-month trend
| Cause | Change | Services | Accountable owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage growth | +2.1k | Insights AKS +1.3k, Azure OpenAI +0.6k, Ledger +0.2k | Insights lead, Ledger lead |
| New scope | +1.2k | Atlas App Service, first full month (joined 11 September; 1.1k in September) | Not yet namedRun by the Atlas MSP |
| Rate and currency | +0.2k | Several | Finance |
| Commitments | −1.6k | SQL reservation, Pack decision D-04. Agreed in August, started 1 October. | CFO |
| Saving slipped | +0.6k | Dev SQL. A template change on 30 September turned auto-pause off. | Platform lead |
| Unexplained | +0.2k | Below the EUR 0.9k threshold | n/a |
Six months, EUR k a month
| Service | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insights AKS | 12.9 | 13.3 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 15.9 |
| Azure OpenAI (Insights reports) | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 3.5 |
| Atlas App Service | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.1 (part month) | 2.3 |
| Dev SQL (auto-pause from June) | 3.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.3 |
Threshold: the greater of EUR 500 or 1% of the bill (EUR 0.9k this month). Scale: euros a month, actual cost; the axis starts at EUR 84k so each movement is visible.
02
Bring the SQL fix forward: 39 days is too slow.
Dev SQL auto-pause turned off by a template change, 30 Sep
39 days exposed · EUR 20 a day · half-day fix
Flagged 5 OctIn 1 working day
Cause confirmed7 Oct
Escalated 6 NovBring the fix forward
Fix live 7 NovNot the 13 Nov release
Ship the half-day fix by 7 Nov; do not wait for the 13 Nov release.It waits only for a release slot. Platform lead ships; we re-check November cost.
How the checks work
- Cost surprises: our expert checks the agreed subscriptions each working day. A change above the agreed threshold is flagged within 1 working day of showing in the cost data, with the impact, the cause or its status, an owner and the next update. Cost data shows usage about a day later.
- This slip: in the cost data 2 October, flagged 5 October, cause confirmed with the Platform lead 7 October. The fix is half a day of work, planned for the template release on 13 November (team capacity). Change ref CHG-2318.
- Budget pace: checked each week against the approved forecast; October ended +1.0%, inside the 2% tolerance agreed at onboarding.
- Renewals: reservations and savings plans checked weekly; flagged at 90, 60 and 30 days before they end, with a decide-by date at least 30 days before. Atlas: flagged 2 October, options 1 November.
- Also checked: new spend without an owner (weekly; Atlas flagged in September); savings that slip; cost reviews before a big change (none requested in October).
03
Two Atlas deadlines missed: appoint an interim owner on 12 Nov.
Atlas MSPHandover listNot sent
Head of ITPermanent ownersMissed 30 Sep and 23 Oct
Platform leadConsolidationWaits; moved to January
CFO appoints an interim Atlas owner, 12 Nov. No third deadline.Head of IT names permanent owners by 30 Nov. Until then EUR 1.2k a month has no owner.
All open actions
- Atlas owners: accountable Head of IT; implementer Atlas MSP (owner list). Head of IT: "We can name owners within a week of receiving the MSP list." Avoidable cost not yet known. 14 days overdue at 6 November.
- Ledger rebuild date: CTO, due 30 October, 7 days overdue.
- On track: log tables sign-off, Security lead, 12 Nov; SQL template fix, Platform lead, 13 Nov (we recommend 7 Nov); Atlas reservation scope, Head of IT, 24 Nov; Insights options, Insights lead, 8 Dec.
- Your team or your MSP does every action.
04
Insights cost per customer rose 6%; Ledger's fell 2%.
Insights, September to October
Insights, EUR per customer59.5 → 63.0
Ledger, EUR per customer41.8 → 40.9
Cost by product and definitions
Ledger EUR 51.5k, Insights EUR 24.0k, Atlas EUR 3.6k, shared EUR 8.0k, no owner EUR 1.8k (2%; 4% at the Pack). Total EUR 88.9k. Rules approved by the CFO (version 2, 7 October).
- Active customer. Ledger: an account with a billed user login in the month. Insights: a customer that ran at least one report. Counts from your product teams.
- Cost included. Direct cost of each product's resources, by owner tag and subscription. This is Azure cost, not margin: revenue was not supplied.
- Customers, May to October: Ledger 1,190 to 1,258; Insights 318 to 381. Next: our findings 13 November; Insights lead options 8 December; the CEO decides on 15 December.
05
Approve Q4 at EUR 268.5k, up EUR 2.5k.
Earlier Q4 forecast
266.0k
October actualOver forecast
+0.9k
Insights growth4% to 6% a month
+1.2k
Atlas consolidationMoved to January
+0.4k
Proposed Q4Assumes SQL fixed by 13 Nov
268.5k
October vs forecast+1.0%
Months and drivers
| Month | Earlier | Change | Proposed |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | 88.0k | +0.9k | 88.9k actual |
| November | 88.6k | +0.4k | 89.0k |
| December | 89.4k | +1.2k | 90.6k |
| Q4 | 266.0k | +2.5k | 268.5k |
- Insights growth, 4% to 6% a month on a EUR 19.4k base (Insights AKS and Azure OpenAI): +0.4k in November, +0.8k in December. Source: Insights lead, customer pipeline.
- Atlas consolidation, December to January: the duplicate App Service plans (EUR 0.4k a month) run one more month. Source: Head of IT, team capacity.
- Not carried forward: the dev SQL slip, assumed fixed by 13 November. If it is not: +EUR 0.6k a month. The CFO approves every change.
06
EUR 7.3k a month holding; SQL slipped EUR 0.6k.
Holding nowEUR 7.3k a month
D-01Node pool scaled back
4.3k holdingAbove the 4.1k estimate
4.3k
D-02Dev SQL serverless
1.4k holding0.6k0.6kslippedunder estimateSlipped: EUR 0.6k a month until the fix, 7 Nov
1.4k
D-04SQL reservation
1.6k holdingNew in October
1.6k
PipelineEUR 2.9k a month, not on the bill yet
D-03Two log tables
1.9k agreedSign-off 12 Nov
1.9k
L-01Insights cache tier
1.0k modelledInsights review 15 Dec
1.0k
Full ledger
| ID | Decision | Pack | Verified | Holding | Invoice | Evidence and next check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-01 | Node pool scaled back | 4.1k | 4.3k | 4.3k | Invoice reconciled | AKS node pool lines, October cost. One node lower than modelled. Next: November Close. |
| D-02 | Dev SQL serverless | 2.6k | 2.0k | 1.4k | Invoice reconciled | Verified at 2.0k: two test databases stay provisioned for nightly load tests, by agreement. Slip flagged 5 October; fix planned 13 November, recommended 7 November. Next: November cost. |
| D-03 | Two log tables | 1.9k | Not yet | Not yet | n/a | Approved 14 April, subject to security sign-off. Sign-off moved from 30 May to 30 September (audit season), now due 12 November. |
| D-04 | Reserved capacity, SQL part | 3.2kBoth parts | 1.6k | 1.6k | Invoice pending | Agreed in August, started 1 October, first verified on October cost. |
| D-04 | Reserved capacity, D-series part | See above | June Close | Rate in place | Invoice reconciled | Half renewed for one year in June. The other half stays flexible until the Ledger rebuild. Decide by 31 January. Not in the totals. |
| L-01 | Insights cache tier | 1.0k | Estimate | n/a | n/a | Goes to the Insights review on 15 December. |
| K-01 | DR standby SQL | 2.2k | Kept by decision | n/a | n/a | Recovery copy behind the contract target. Reopen if the target changes. |
| L-02 | Old exports | 0.4k | Kept by decision | n/a | n/a | Kept in July: needed for audit. Reopen if the audit rule changes. |
| N-01 | Atlas consolidation | New | n/a | n/a | n/a | Moved to January for team capacity. About EUR 0.4k a month once the duplicate plans close. |
Kept by decision: EUR 2.6k a month (K-01, L-02), declined for a reason, with a reopen trigger; not savings. Holding was EUR 7.9k when first verified. Run rate, period savings and cost avoidance are never added together. Fees are not netted.
07
Three later decisions; one prerequisite is already overdue.
Atlas
Needs: scope from Head of IT, 24 Nov
1 Dec · CFO renews the reservation
31 Dec expires; lapse +EUR 0.3k a month
Insights
Needs: our cost review findings, 13 Nov
options from Insights lead, 8 Dec
15 Dec · CEO decides pricing or architecture
D-series
Needs: Ledger rebuild date, CTO, overdue since 30 Oct
31 Jan · CFO decides remaining capacity +EUR 1.3k a month until then
Cost of waiting and dependencies
| Item | Decide by | Cost of waiting | Depends on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas ownersThree subscriptions, run by the Atlas MSP | 30 Nov, proposed | EUR 1.2k a month has no owner. Avoidable cost not yet known. | MSP handover list |
| Atlas VM reservationOne year, two VMs | 1 Dec | If it lapses: about EUR 0.3k a month more (estimate). | Head of IT confirms scope by 24 Nov |
| Insights unit cost | 15 Dec | Not estimated until the cause is known. | Our findings 13 Nov; Insights lead options 8 Dec |
| Remaining D-seriesHalf not renewed in June | 31 Jan | About EUR 1.3k a month above a reserved rate. | Ledger rebuild date (CTO, overdue) |
Verified Microsoft changes affecting this estate: none this month. Checked by our Azure expert on 5 November, for the 12 subscriptions in scope.
Supporting detail
08
Since April: three savings delivered, three issues caught early.
3savings delivered
3issues caught early
4decisions supported
2.5 ha month of your team's time
October checks complete
Review booked 12 Nov
Quarter by quarter
April to JuneReviewed 14 July
July to SeptemberReviewed 13 October
OctoberSo far
Delivered
D-01 node pool, May; D-02 dev SQL, June
None
D-04 SQL reservation
Caught
None
Atlas spend, no owner
Dev SQL slip; Insights unit cost
Decided
D-series half renewed
Old exports kept; SQL reservation agreed
Atlas consolidation moved
Team time
9.0 h, incl. Context call and Decision meeting
7.5 h
2.5 h; implementation extra
Each quarter you see this record, then choose Monthly, Quarterly or stop.
Review agenda, evidence and credits
Review, 45 minutes, booked 12 November (due by 13 November, working day 10)
- Dev SQL fix, 5 min: CTO, Platform lead (or decided before the review).
- Atlas, 10 min: CFO, Head of IT.
- Insights, 15 min: CTO, Insights lead, CFO.
- Forecast, 10 min: CFO, Financial Controller.
- Last 5 minutes: open actions and next dates. Nothing to decide? The CFO can sign off in writing instead.
Evidence and credits
- Close on time: engineering preview 4 Nov (WD3), this page 6 Nov (WD5).
- Decisions updated: 6 of 6. Change explained: every movement above EUR 0.9k; 0.2k left. Savings re-checked: D-01, D-02, D-04 SQL part; one partly holding.
- September: five of five. Credits to date: none. A failed test earns a credit on the next invoice. A review you waive in writing counts as passed.
B
Engineering sees it first; finance on working day five.
- 3 NovCut-off
- 4 NovEngineering
- 6 NovFinance
- 12 NovReview
- Invoice + 5 daysReconciled
Invoice reconciliation
Cost data against the Microsoft invoice, excluding VAT. Your Financial Controller forwards the invoice; we reconcile within 5 working days. Billed through a CSP? We reconcile to your partner invoice and supporting billing detail.
| Line | September, final | October |
|---|---|---|
| Cost data | 86.2k | 88.9k |
| Invoice | 86.2k, received 8 Oct | Pending |
| Difference | Under EUR 0.1k | Pending |
Coverage and access
- In scope: 12 subscriptions: 9 Example Ltd, 3 Atlas (run by the Atlas MSP until consolidation). Excluded: Microsoft 365 and licences billed outside Azure.
- Basis: actual cost, service period 1 to 31 October, compared with September final.
- Access: read-only. Reader and Cost Management Reader on all 12 subscriptions. Cost Management Reader can also open support tickets; we do not use it. Data handling and AI use: To confirm
- Prepared by our Azure expert, reviewed by our delivery lead. Version 1.0, 6 November.