“Avoid Looking Like a Rookie in Azure — Things Microsoft Won’t Tell You” 💡

Let’s face it: everybody makes mistakes when they’re new to Azure. But some errors are so basic they can seriously hurt your credibility — whether you’re presenting to stakeholders, deploying for a client, or trying to pass a cert exam.

So here’s a battle-tested list of overlooked Azure gotchas 🚨 that can make you look like a noob… and how to avoid them.

(Things Microsoft doesn’t always spell out in the docs…) 👀

🧨 1. Forgetting to Set the Correct Region

Yes, it seems simple. But deploying resources in the wrong Azure region is one of the most common (and costly) beginner mistakes.

✅ Solution: Always set a default region in your scripts or CLI profile (e.g., az configure --defaults location=eastus). Audit your resource group locations regularly.

🧠 2. Not Using Tags (Then Losing Control of Spend)

No tags = No traceability = Budget chaos.

💸 Tag your resources from day one. Use metadata like:

{ “Environment”: “Production”, “Owner”: “Everton”, “CostCenter”: “12345” }

🎯 It’s not “just governance stuff” — it’s your career on the line when the CFO asks, “Who created this $400 VM?”

🌪️ 3. Not Understanding Azure’s Shared Responsibility Model

People assume Azure “takes care of security.” Nope.

🔐 Azure handles the physical infra, yes, but things like:

Identity access (RBAC, roles),
Key vault secrets,
NSG/firewall rules

are your problem.

📌 Tip: Learn where your responsibilities begin. Especially for PaaS. Azure won’t save your app if you misconfigure it.

🕳️ 4. Using Default NSG or Open Ports Everywhere

Deploying a VM with port 3389 (remote desktop) open to the internet?

👎 That’s an immediate security red flag.

✅ Use Just-in-Time (JIT) VM access, and lock ports with Network Security Groups (NSGs) or Azure Firewall.

💀 5. Hardcoding Secrets in Code or Scripts

If you store credentials in a script, I hope you also enjoy talking to the security team. 😅

🔐 Use Azure Key Vault to manage secrets securely, and integrate it with your Azure Functions, Logic Apps, and pipelines.

📉 6. Forgetting to Monitor and Set Budget Alerts

Deploy it and forget it? That’s how you get surprise $200 bills for a test web app.

✅ Setup Azure Budget Alerts, and use Azure Monitor to track performance — before the client does.

🤐 7. Blind Belief in the Portal — Not Automating Anything

If you’re clicking everything manually in the portal:

🧟‍♂️ You’re doing it wrong.

DevOps, IaC (Infrastructure as Code), and repeatability are king.

✨ Use:

ARM Templates / Bicep
Terraform
Azure Deployment Scripts
GitHub Actions for CI/CD

🚫 Bonus: Don’t Be Fooled by “Free Tier” — Read the Fine Print

Many Azure services look free, until usage spikes. For example:

Azure Functions: limited to 1M executions/month.
Cosmos DB: provisioned throughput isn’t free past 400 RU/s.

📎 Check the limits before assuming it’s cost-free.

👊 Final Thoughts

The Azure docs are good… but they won’t always tell you how not to shoot yourself in the foot.

Avoid these classic mistakes and you’ll not only save money — you’ll earn a reputation for professionalism and cloud maturity. ☁️💼

🧠 Got a war story or Azure “oops” moment to share? Drop it in the comments 👇 — maybe we’ll all learn from it!