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Connect Azure

Summary​

Connect Microsoft Azure to Costimizer using a subscription or tenant-level billing connection.

Required role: Organization Manager or Manage Cloud Credentials
Estimated time: 15 minutes

Connection options​

Costimizer supports two ways to connect to Azure:

  • Subscription — onboard a single Azure subscription
  • Tenant — onboard all subscriptions under one Azure Tenant at once
All access is read-only

Costimizer does not modify any Azure resources. The Reader role it requires is the minimum needed to collect cost and usage data.

Azure connection options in Costimizer

Navigate to Accounts → Connect Cloud Account → Azure.

One-time Azure setup (App Registration)​

Create App Registration​

  1. Log in to the Azure Portal.
  2. Go to Azure Entra ID (Active Directory) → App registrations.
  3. Click + New registration.
  4. Name: costimizer.ai (or any name you prefer). Keep the default account type.
  5. Click Register.

Azure App registrations — New registration

Azure App registration — Register

  1. Copy and save the Application (Client) ID and Directory (Tenant) ID from the Overview page.

Assign Reader role on subscription​

  1. Go to Azure Portal → Subscriptions.
  2. Select the subscription to onboard.
  3. Open Access Control (IAM) → + Add → Add role assignment.

Azure Subscriptions list

Azure IAM — Add role assignment

  1. Role: Reader.
  2. Assign access to: User, group, or service principal.

Azure IAM — select Reader role

  1. Select the costimizer.ai app you just registered.

Azure IAM — assign access to service principal

Azure IAM — select costimizer.ai app

Azure IAM — confirm app selection

  1. Click Save.
Note for tenant-level

If connecting at the Tenant level, repeat the Reader role assignment on every subscription you want Costimizer to access.

Tenant-level Reader role assignment note

Generate client secret​

  1. Go to Entra ID → App registrations → your costimizer.ai app.
  2. Navigate to Certificates & Secrets.

Azure App registration — Certificates & Secrets

  1. Click + New client secret. Add a description (e.g., costimizer-secret) and set an expiry (12–24 months recommended).

Azure — create new client secret

Azure — client secret value

  1. Click Add.

Azure — confirm Add client secret

Copy the Secret Value immediately. It is not shown again after you leave the page.

Connect in Costimizer UI​

  1. Log in to Costimizer → Accounts → Connect Cloud Account → Azure.
  2. Select Subscription.

Costimizer Azure connection — select Subscription

  1. Fill in:
    • Name — a label (e.g., Azure Production)
    • Subscription ID
    • Directory (Tenant) ID
    • Application (Client) ID
    • Client Secret
  2. Click Connect.

Data availability​

Initial data sync: a few hours. Billing export data: up to 24 hours. Once connected, costs will appear in the Costimizer dashboards, and the Resources section will begin populating.

Troubleshooting​

IssueResolution
Authentication failedVerify Client ID, Secret, and Tenant ID are entered correctly
Permission errorConfirm the Reader role is assigned to the correct subscription(s)
Missing subscriptionsCheck that the Reader role is assigned at the Tenant level, not just one subscription

See Connection failures for more detail.