I implemented a cloud cost optimization strategy on Microsoft Azure to reduce unnecessary expenses while maintaining system performance and reliability. The project focused on identifying idle or underutilized resources, improving resource utilization, and automating cost management processes. Key tasks included: Conducting a comprehensive audit of all Azure resources, including VMs, storage accounts, databases, and networking components. Implementing resource tagging policies to track usage by projects and departments, enabling detailed cost analysis. Setting up Azure Cost Management dashboards and automated alerts to monitor spending in real time. Automating cleanup of unused or redundant resources using Azure Functions and scripts, ensuring minimal manual intervention. Collaborating with teams to recommend right-sizing of virtual machines and adopting reserved instances where appropriate. Key outcomes: Achieved 20% monthly cost savings without affecting application performance. Increased visibility and accountability for cloud spending across teams. Enabled proactive cost management with automated monitoring and alerts, reducing unexpected budget overruns. This project not only optimized costs but also established best practices for cloud governance, making future scaling more predictable and efficient.