Microsoft Defender Cloud Commit Units (DCUs) is a pre-purchase plan that offers significant savings (up to 22%) over traditional retail. It’s a classic setup: the more you spend, the bigger the discount.
At first glance, the plan seems straightforward and simple. But as you look closer, the numbers don’t stack. Determining whether buying DCUs is a good investment requires nuanced calculations. You might be surprised to see how thin the margins are for each tier and how just a small amount of waste can impact savings.
By publishing this DCU calculator for Azure FinOps, and its accompanying blog post, we hope to help you avoid making a costly overcommitment.
This calculator uses the same logic we implemented for making DCU calculations and recommendations in Envisor. Use it to run scenarios to evaluate a commit level that balances risk with reward. We recommend you take note of the breakeven levels for each tier and run a few scenarios to see how your expected savings pencil out.
Note: The calculator is optimized for viewing on a laptop or desktop. Don't know your company's marginal cost of capital? Your country's equivalent of a Prime Rate is a great place to start.