How to estimate costs of downloading all of our Microsoft365 data in Azure?

Question

We want to scan all of the data we have in OneDrive, Outlook, SharePoint, and Teams.
We will do this by calling the Microsoft Graph API from a container inside our Azure account and download every file we can find.

We would like to estimate how much it will cost us. We know there is a cost associated with outbound traffic, but technically this is all inbound.

Is there a download limit we will hit on any of these services? Are there extra costs we need to look out for? Do we have to pay for data transfer between these services and Azure?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hello JD-0299

Yes, there are costs associated with using the Microsoft Graph API to download data from OneDrive, Outlook, SharePoint, and Teams. Here are some points to consider when estimating the costs:

1. Outbound traffic cost: While your traffic may be inbound, there may still be costs associated with outbound traffic from the Microsoft services to Azure. Depending on the amount of data you are downloading, you may incur costs for egress traffic from Microsoft to Azure.
2. API call cost: The Microsoft Graph API has a limit on the number of requests you can make per second and per day. If you exceed these limits, you may be throttled or charged additional fees. You should monitor your API usage and consider optimizing your calls to reduce the number of requests.
3. Data transfer cost: If you are transferring data between Azure and the Microsoft services, there may be costs associated with that data transfer. You should review the Azure pricing page to understand the costs for data transfer between Azure and other services.
4. Storage cost: If you are storing the downloaded data in Azure, you will incur storage costs. You should consider the size of the data you will be downloading and the expected growth rate to estimate your storage costs.
5. License cost: Depending on the features you are using in Microsoft services, you may need to purchase licenses. You should review the licensing requirements for the services you plan to use.

It's also worth noting that there may be limitations on the amount of data you can download from the Microsoft services. You should review the documentation for each service to understand the download limits and any other restrictions.

Overall, it's important to carefully estimate the costs and monitor your usage to avoid unexpected charges. You should also consider optimizing your approach to reduce the number of requests and minimize data transfer costs.