Introduction

Completed

As a business moves to a cloud-based model, the importance of proper management and operations can't be overstated. In Azure, it's possible to visualize what management solutions cost per workload. In other words, the business can balance management cost against how critical the workload is to the business.

A management baseline is the minimum set of tools applied to all resources in the environment. This module walks through the three disciplines in a cloud-management baseline:

  • Inventory and visibility: Inventorying assets and creating visibility into the run state of each resource of a workload
  • Operational compliance: Management of configuration, sizing, cost, and performance of assets
  • Protection and recovery: Data protection and quick recovery to minimize operational interruptions

The start of this module looks into business alignment to make sure everyone uses the same terms. The module then covers how to enhance the management baseline. The end of the module reviews the specialization principles. Workload specialization and platform specialization can support the most critical workloads and platforms.

The following image shows the components of a management baseline that this module covers.

Diagram of an overview of business alignment showing criticality, impact, and commitment.

Module scenario

Suppose you work as an IT operations architect at a company that has been migrating two datacenters to Azure. In this process, the company wants to modernize IT operations and its IT-management solution. You can use the guidance in this Learn module to evaluate how a cloud-native solution supports the company's cloud journey.

The new cloud-native solution includes a management baseline for the cloud environment. The fundamental management baseline is for all workloads, and has extra features for specific platforms and workloads. The solution should also enable reporting on management costs for the business stakeholders.

Learning objectives

In this module, you'll:

  • Set a baseline for criticality, impact, and commitment for your business.
  • Understand which Azure management tools to include in a management baseline.
  • Learn how to partner with workload and platform teams for more prosperous decentralized operations.

Prerequisites

  • Foundational understanding of cloud adoption
  • Understanding of your organization's requirements for operations management