Maximize Azure ROI: The Well-Architected Framework in Practice
Maximize Azure ROI: The Well-Architected Framework in Practice
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Your Azure environment started as a proof of concept. A web app, a database, some blob storage, maybe an OpenAI endpoint. It worked, so it went to production. But somewhere between "it works" and "it's enterprise-ready," a lot of important decisions got skipped.
In this session, Alex Will, CTO of ArchitectNow and Microsoft Azure MVP, walks through all five pillars of the Azure Well-Architected Framework using a real-world sample architecture. Instead of abstract theory, Alex shows the practical design decisions that take a typical Azure POC to a secure, reliable, cost-optimized production workload.
What you'll learn:
Reliability: The three availability models (active-standby, active-passive, active-active) — when each one makes sense, what they cost, and how to choose based on your actual business requirements
Security: Zero trust in practice — virtual networks, private endpoints, managed identities, Key Vault, and why "Allow Azure services" doesn't mean what you think it means
Operational Excellence: CI/CD pipelines, observability, feature flags, and treating your AI prompts like code
Performance Efficiency: Scaling models (scale up vs. scale out), Redis caching strategies, and how semantic caching works for AI responses
Cost Optimization: How to actually read your Azure bill, reserved instances vs. savings plans, and why turning off an app service doesn't stop billing
Alex also covers how AI changes each pillar — from token-based billing and prompt injection risks to model drift detection and fallback strategies when OpenAI rate limits hit.
Whether you're running a handful of Azure resources or managing a complex multi-subscription environment, this session gives you a structured way to evaluate where you are and figure out where to focus.
Speaker: Alex Will, CTO & Azure MVP, ArchitectNow