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Cost Guidance

This guide explains the billing models and cost considerations for services enabled by this accelerator.

Understanding Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG)

Several Microsoft services used by this accelerator support Pay-As-You-Go billing:

What is PAYG?

Instead of purchasing prepaid licenses or capacity upfront, PAYG lets your organization link an Azure subscription and pay based on actual usage (messages processed, storage consumed, API calls made, etc.).

Think of it as: Your Azure subscription acts like a credit card—charges accrue monthly based on consumption.

Why PAYG Exists

Benefit Description
Flexibility Scale up or down without committing to fixed license counts
Cost Efficiency Ideal for pilots, unpredictable workloads, or seasonal usage
No Upfront Commitment Start small and grow based on actual needs

Services with PAYG Options

Microsoft Purview DSPM

Feature Billing Model Notes
DSPM for AI scanning Included with E5/E5 Compliance No additional PAYG cost for basic features
Advanced analytics PAYG available Large data estates may benefit from PAYG for extended scanning
Data Map capacity Capacity units Based on assets cataloged and scanned

Defender for Cloud

Feature Billing Model Notes
Defender for AI (Cognitive Services) Per-resource/month Charged per protected AI resource
Defender CSPM Per-resource/month Posture management for cloud resources
Log Analytics ingestion Per-GB Diagnostic logs consume Log Analytics quota

Azure AI Services

Feature Billing Model Notes
Content Safety API Per-1000 calls Charged when blocklist evaluation runs
Azure OpenAI Per-token Model inference costs (not governance-related)

Cost Optimization Tips

1. Right-Size Your Deployment

Scenario Recommendation
Pilot/POC Use defender,foundry tags only—skip full DSPM scanning
Production Enable all relevant tags but review diagnostic log volume
Cost-Sensitive Disable optional features in spec (e.g., skip activityExport if not needed)

2. Monitor Log Analytics Ingestion

Diagnostic logs from AI resources can generate significant volume. To control costs:

# Check current ingestion in Log Analytics
az monitor log-analytics workspace show --resource-group <rg> --workspace-name <workspace> --query "sku"

Consider:

  • Setting daily caps on Log Analytics workspaces
  • Filtering diagnostic categories in the spec (defenderForAI.diagnosticCategories)
  • Using Azure Cost Management alerts

3. Use Budget Alerts

The accelerator includes a stub script for budget alerts:

# Review and customize for your needs
./scripts/governance/dspmPurview/24-Create-BudgetAlert-Stub.ps1

4. Review Defender Plans

Not all Defender plans may be necessary for your scenario:

{
  "defenderForAI": {
    "enableDefenderForCloudPlans": [
      "CognitiveServices"  // Required for AI protection
      // "Storage" - Only if scanning storage accounts
      // "KeyVaults" - Only if monitoring Key Vault access
    ]
  }
}

Licensing Requirements

Microsoft 365

Feature License Required
DSPM for AI (basic) M365 E5 or E5 Compliance
Unified Audit Log M365 E3+ (E5 for advanced)
DLP policies M365 E5 or E5 Compliance
Sensitivity labels M365 E3+ (E5 for auto-labeling)
Retention policies M365 E5 or E5 Compliance
Communication Compliance M365 E5 Compliance add-on

Azure

Feature License Required
Microsoft Purview (governance) Azure subscription + Purview account
Defender for Cloud Azure subscription (plans are per-resource)
Log Analytics Azure subscription (per-GB ingestion)
Microsoft Foundry Azure subscription + AI resource quota

Estimating Costs

Small Deployment (1-5 AI resources)

Service Estimated Monthly Cost
Defender for AI $15-50
Log Analytics (1-5 GB/day) $50-250
Content Safety API $0-50
Total ~$65-350/month

Medium Deployment (10-50 AI resources)

Service Estimated Monthly Cost
Defender for AI $150-500
Log Analytics (10-50 GB/day) $250-1,250
Content Safety API $50-200
Total ~$450-1,950/month

Note: These are rough estimates. Actual costs depend on usage patterns, data volume, and regional pricing. Use the Azure Pricing Calculator for accurate estimates.

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