CASE STUDY
Michael Hill Achieves 22% Azure Cost Savings Through Codify’s Cloud Optimisation
OVERVIEW
Michael Hill, a global jewellery retailer with over 2,500 employees, rapidly expanded its cloud footprint during the early stages of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Like many retailers, the business needed to scale digital channels quickly to support e commerce growth, click and collect services, and remote store operations. Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) also played a key role in enabling internal teams to adapt at speed.
While this decisive action ensured business continuity, it also resulted in a reactive cloud environment and rising Azure costs. To regain control and ensure long term cost efficiency, Michael Hill engaged Codify to conduct a targeted Azure optimisation program.
This optimisation engagement built on Codify’s earlier work modernising Michael Hill’s IT environment through its Azure migration, strengthening cloud governance, improving scalability across the retail network, and helping establish a FinOps‑driven approach to cost management. This foundation gave Codify deep familiarity with the retailer’s cloud environment and ensured the optimisation work aligned with Michael Hill’s broader cloud strategy.
CHALLENGES
An Azure Cloud Environment built for Peak Retail Demand, driving up Unnecessary Azure Spend
During the pandemic, Michael Hill rapidly expanded its cloud capacity to support e commerce growth, click and collect services, and remote store operations. This fast scaling ensured business continuity, but it also created an Azure environment sized for peak retail demand rather than the organisation’s day to day operational needs.
Once the immediate pressures eased, it became clear that the Azure environment was over provisioned and carrying unnecessary extra cost. The rapid expansion had left behind unused Azure resources, oversized workloads, and legacy architectural patterns that no longer aligned with Microsoft best practices. To regain control and ensure long term cost efficiency, Michael Hill needed a structured Azure optimisation effort to right size its cloud footprint and eliminate waste.
Over‑provisioned virtual machines
Unused or orphaned cloud resources
Higher‑than‑necessary storage and licensing costs
Legacy architectural patterns misaligned with Microsoft best practices
SOLUTIONS
Targeted Azure Cost Optimisation Led by Codify
Codify’s Azure specialists conducted a deep analysis of Michael Hill’s cloud environment, identifying one time corrective actions and structural improvements that would immediately reduce spend and improve long term cost governance.
Michael Hill’s leadership team emphasised that Codify’s optimisation work provided clarity, transparency, and confidence in their cloud operations.
Azure Virtual Machine and Infrastructure Optimisation
Codify performed a detailed clean up and right sizing exercise across the retailer’s Azure virtual machines and associated resources. These actions eliminated unnecessary consumption and aligned VM configurations with actual business requirements.
Deleting unattached disks and network interfaces
Identifying orphaned public IP addresses
Leveraging Azure Hybrid Use Benefit (HUB) to reduce Windows Server licensing costs
Converting selected Premium SSDs to Standard SSDs where new Microsoft SLAs allowed
Removing outdated Azure Backup items that continued to incur charges
Azure Workload and Database Optimisation
Codify also modernised several key workloads to reduce cost and improve efficiency. These changes reduced ongoing operational costs while improving architectural alignment with Azure best practices.
Moving SQL databases into elastic pools to share compute and storage
Retiring legacy App Service Environments (ASEs) and adopting Azure Private Link
Optimising SQL backup retention and Point in Time Recovery (PITR) settings
Shifting long term data from hot to archive storage tiers
Improved Cost Governance and Monitoring in Azure
To prevent future overspend, Codify benchmarked Michael Hill’s consumption against its Average Consumption Model, identifying areas where usage exceeded typical patterns. Codify then deployed its proactive assurance platform to continuously monitor resource usage and alert the team to potential cost overruns.
RESULTS
Strategic Insight Leads to Significant Azure Cost Reduction
Codify’s optimisation program enabled Michael Hill to avoid a 22% increase in Azure costs, freeing up budget to reinvest in digital retail initiatives.
The optimisation work strengthened Michael Hill’s cloud governance, reduced unnecessary consumption, and ensured the retailer’s Azure environment was aligned with modern architectural standards, positioning the business for continued innovation across both online and in store channels.
The savings were immediate and meaningful, delivering measurable financial impact without disrupting critical retail systems.
“Thanks to the professional focus and added transparency of our cloud ops by teaming internal DEVSECOPS with Codify, we avoided cost hikes of over 22 per cent.”
Matt Keays CTO, Michael Hill