Automatically Identify and Terminate Unused Cloud Resources Today

An IT company, Brampton-based, shares 3 Simple Power Automate Workflows for Your Business 

Resource creation through the cloud has already been made fast and simple. Among these includes virtual machines, databases, and storage accounts that are deployed in minutes. However, this convenience, efficiency, and innovation bring with it some financial risk as well. This is because a lot of cloud resources are still active even after they are used. This is what professionals in an IT company Brampton refers to as cloud sprawl.  

IT company Brampton Automatically Identify and Terminate Unused Cloud Resources Today

Cloud sprawl refers to the increasing unmanaged and unutilized resources that keep running in the cloud. Although this seems harmless, it can be the reason for your increasing monthly bill for cloud storage. In a 2024 survey regarding cloud storage, it showed that this kind of waste is rampant. The lack of cloud skills, idle resources, and overprovisioning are among the reasons behind this which, as mentioned, increases unnecessary expenses for businesses.  

Why Should I Care About Cloud Resources? 

This issue is common among companies, regardless of size. Because of this, budgets usually get inflated unnecessarily. Although this often occurs slowly, over time, this builds up. Hence, the need to automate the process of cleaning out your cloud storage is important. With automation, the savings are both instant and meaningful. For example, a company implemented an auto-shut policy on sites and tools that had nothing to do with production. As such, all other tools that are not labeled under “production” were shut down after business hours. From this, the business was able to save about forty percent of their usual expenses.  

As a result, an IT company Brampton, shows budgets recovered from this automation can now be diverted towards growth and security efforts. This is because automation did not create additional work but was able to enhance cost control. Hence, showing that automation’s direct contribution to finance. 

3 Power Automate Workflows 

Manually tracking unused cloud resources is usually difficult and often overlooked. Most of the time, these are only noticed once the bill comes in. This, however, can be mitigated by Power Automate. This is because it allows for planned follow-ups and automatic responses. This is a Microsoft tool that is activated by a set of rules that the user specifies in order to detect the rules. Below, there are three simple workflows that help your business deal with the same source of cloud waste. Collectively, they create an effective basis for cost optimization.  

Automate the Shutdown of Development VMs 

Cloud waste is created in development environments. This usually comes from short projects done using virtual machines. Oftentimes, these apps are forgotten when the projects are over. However, these keep idling thereby racking in expenses. With Power Automate, you and your business need only to set up a daily trigger flow that blocks machines with a tag like Environment: Dev.m for example. With this, performance metrics are then checked by the flow and CPU usage is measured in seventy-two hours. When the system detects a usage of less than 5%, an action is taken, and the virtual machine goes off automatically. Simply put, it does not remove the machine but rather switches it off instead of being in sleep mode. If needed, it can still be used when “turned on.” 

Identify and Report Orphaned Storage Disks 

Another cost driver is orphaned storage disks. These are the disks that are usually left behind when apps are deleted. Oftentimes, the clean-up process ignores this but remains in storage and will be billed continuously. These idle assets must be identified through a weekly schedule via the workflow. With Power Automate, the monthly storage costs are also estimated, summarized into a report, and sent to the IT or finance department through email. The report makes the hidden costs visible and therefore the owner or manager can assess if the disks are important or not. Resulting in the unneeded disks to be safely deleted. 

Terminate Expired Temporary Resources 

There are some cloud resources that are not permanent. Some of these include test databases or file transfer storage, although these can be renewed, most of the time the expiration is forgotten. With automation, it tags these resources according to the expiration date and adds a deletion date as well. As the app flow runs daily. The tag scans through resources in the workflow. It compares the date of deletion with the current date and deletes those that are past the due date. Hence, there is no need for manual cleaning and avoids waste in the long-term.  

Control and Troubleshoot Automation 

Experts from an IT company Brampton, however, caution that automation should be done with extra care. In fact, it would be best to have additional protection, especially in deletion actions. Moreover, enforcement should not happen without prior testing. In line with this, it is best to partner with companies such as EB Solution to ensure that your workflow is working properly. 

Being your trusted IT company Brampton, our professional IT and cybersecurity experts can work with you in setting up any automation not just for your cloud storage but all your network system. This will help you maximize your apps’ performance without additional expenses. 

Get in touch with us today to get your automation started! 

IT company, Brampton