Overview of the performance efficiency pillar

The performance efficiency pillar of Well-Architected for Industry ensures that the cloud solution is able to deliver the required performance levels to meet the needs of the business in the most cost-effective and efficient way.

The performance efficiency pillar includes the following key areas:

  1. Selection of the right resource types: Choose the right resource type to optimize the performance of your application while minimizing costs.
  2. Scalability and elasticity: Ensure that your application can scale and grow to meet demand while also being able to scale down during low demand periods.
  3. Resource utilization: Maximize resource utilization by analyzing and optimizing resource usage.
  4. Application architecture: Properly design and implement application architecture for better performance and efficiency.
  5. Caching: Use caching strategies to reduce the time it takes to retrieve data and improve overall application performance.
  6. Network optimization: Optimize network traffic and data transfer to minimize latency and increase performance.
  7. Monitoring and logging: Monitor and log performance metrics to identify potential issues and improve overall application performance.

The following table summarizes the division of responsibility of the performance efficiency pillar for each service type:

Type of service Microsoft responsibility Customer responsibility Some components used in Microsoft Cloud industry solutions
On-premises N/A Responsible for the whole stack. On-premises data gateway
IaaS Ensure that the underlying infrastructure provides adequate resources, such as CPU, memory, and storage, to support the customer's workload. Optimize the configuration of the operating system, applications, and data to achieve optimal performance. Includes tasks such as tuning system parameters, optimizing queries, and configuring caching and load balancing. Azure Virtual Network (VNet), Azure Virtual Machines (VMs)
PaaS Ensure that the platform provides adequate resources and services such as database connections and messaging services to support the customer's workload. Optimize the code and configuration of the application and services to achieve optimal performance. Includes tasks such as optimizing database queries, tuning application logic, and configuring caching and load balancing. Power Platform, Azure Health Data Services, Azure Storage Services, Azure Analytics Services, Azure Logic Apps, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
SaaS Ensure that the entire software application and associated services perform efficiently for all users. Configure their usage of the application and services to achieve optimal performance. Includes tasks such as configuring user settings, managing data volumes, and optimizing workflow and business processes. Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365

See also