Azure is very useful for its scale. Customers can create an unlimited number of servers and consume unlimited amounts of storage. However, this can be costly if there is no management of the consumption.
In server virtualization, server sprawl is used for a symptom where many virtual machines are running, while nobody really knows what the purpose is of some of those servers. It is so easy to create a virtual machine while the perception is that there are no associated costs.
Azure has two ways of charging:
Pay upfront using an Enterprise Agreement. The customer has a commitment with Microsoft to pay in advance for a certain amount of resources.
Pay by credit card or invoice. This is the pay-as-you-go model.
Microsoft makes an invoice available once per month. This is a PDF file that provides an overview of the costs per Azure service (virtual machines, data management, identity, recovery services, and so on).
The only way to get a more detailed insight into costs...