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Description

This policy identifies successfully provisioned Azure Reservations whose recent monthly average utilization is below 80%. A utilization record is recent for 40 days from the first day of its Year Month.

Rationaleโ€‹

Azure Reservations are paid commitments. Utilization below 80% indicates that a material share of the reserved capacity did not receive matching usage during the reported period. The threshold is a cost-review trigger rather than an Azure compliance requirement; sustained low utilization can indicate a scope, SKU, or quantity mismatch and an opportunity to improve future commitment coverage.

Impactโ€‹

Changing a Reservation's scope or exchanging or refunding an eligible Reservation can alter discounts across workloads. Review multiple periods, seasonal demand, the remaining term, and current Azure exchange and refund rules before acting.

Auditโ€‹

This policy evaluates an Azure Reservation and its related Azure Reservation Utilization records.

The Reservation is marked as INCOMPLIANT if:

  • Provisioning State is Succeeded.
  • At least one complete related utilization record has a Year Month within the last 40 days and Utilization Percentage, Avg below 80%.
  • No complete recent utilization record has Utilization Percentage, Avg at or above 80%.

The Reservation is marked as INAPPLICABLE if its Provisioning State is not Succeeded.

The Reservation is marked as UNDETERMINED if:

  • Provisioning State is empty.
  • A related utilization record has missing or invalid required data.
  • Recent utilization records occur on both sides of the 80% threshold.
  • No complete utilization record is available within the last 40 days.

The Reservation is marked as COMPLIANT if at least one complete recent utilization record meets or exceeds 80% and no complete recent record is below 80%. Disappeared Reservations and utilization records are excluded automatically.