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customer requires an azure assessment

Kholofelo Nku 0 Reputation points
2026-04-13T17:00:40.51+00:00

Customer that does not have an Azure commitment requires an Azure assessment, what are the steps to follow for them to be assigned a zero spend azure subscription ID

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  1. Siva shunmugam Nadessin 9,625 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-04-14T02:49:38.61+00:00

    Hello Kholofelo Nku,

    Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

    When investigated we see that you need an Azure subscription purely for assessment purposes—no existing EA/CSP commitment required—and you’d like it to have zero spend. Here are the common ways to get one and the steps to follow:

    1. Sign up for an Azure Free Account (pays-as-you-go, no upfront commitment) • Go to https://azure.microsoft.com/free • Sign up with a Microsoft account • You’ll get a pay-as-you-go subscription with $200 credit (and free-tier services). • This subscription can sit idle (zero spend) if you only deploy assessment services.
    2. Request a Demo/Sponsorship Subscription (zero-$ POC subscription) • If you’re a CSP or MPN partner, open a support case in the Partner Center at: https://partner.microsoft.com/dashboard/support/csp/servicerequests/create?stage=2&topicid=c65fe2c7-105c-aafc-2f8c-3d3acecb2e4a • Ask for a “Demo” or “Sponsorship” subscription that has a zero-spend billing profile. • Microsoft or your partner rep will provision a subscription ID you can use for assessments.
    3. Use a Microsoft Learn Sandbox Subscription (short-lived, good for quick assessments) • Sign in to Microsoft Learn, launch any sandbox module that spins up a free subscription for 1–2 hours. • Grab the subscription ID from the Azure portal.
    4. Leverage a Visual Studio / Dev/Test Benefit • If your org has Visual Studio subscriptions with the Azure dev/test benefit, you can spin up a Dev/Test subscription. • It’s zero-cost for your team to run assessments and POCs.

    Once you have that subscription:

    1. Go to the Azure portal → Subscriptions → locate your new subscription → copy the Subscription ID.
    2. Make sure your user account has at least Reader or Contributor role on that subscription.
    3. In Azure Migrate or Azure Advisor (Well-Architected Framework), create your assessment project and specify this Subscription ID.

    That subscription will sit idle (zero spend) unless you deploy billable resources. Let me know which route you pick or if you need more help!

    Reference links

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  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-04-13T17:00:59.4+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    For Services Hub / On-Demand Assessments, an Azure subscription is mandatory, but it can be a zero/low‑spend subscription created specifically for assessments.

    Follow these steps for a customer with no existing Azure commitment:

    1. Confirm that an Azure subscription is required
      • On-Demand Assessments ingest data into an Azure Log Analytics workspace, which must be hosted in an Azure subscription owned by the customer’s organization.
      • Without an Azure subscription, Services Hub Azure Log Analytics–based assessments cannot run.
    2. Decide how to obtain a subscription with minimal or no spend Customers have these supported options:
      1. Use an existing Azure subscription (if they already have one)
      • Recommended when any active subscription with credits exists.
      1. Create a new Azure subscription under the customer’s EA agreement
      • Recommended pattern for a dedicated “assessment-only” subscription.
      • This subscription can be kept at effectively zero spend by only enabling Log Analytics for ODAs and avoiding other chargeable services.
      1. Use a sponsored / Services Hub–provided Azure subscription
      • Via the Get an Azure subscription option in Services Hub / Engage Center where available.
      • Terms (per FAQ): valid for 1 year, includes up to $10 USD of Azure usage, and is capped so that costs cannot exceed that limit. This is sufficient to run On-Demand Assessments and effectively behaves as a zero‑spend subscription for normal ODA usage.
      1. Explore Azure trial offers (credit card required)
      • As a fallback, the customer can use trial options listed under Create your Azure Free Account or Pay as you Go. These can also be kept at near‑zero spend by only using Log Analytics for assessments.
    3. Ensure the right roles and access are in place
      • The subscription must be owned by the customer’s organization.
      • A customer representative with the required Azure Subscription and/or Log Analytics roles must either:
        • Be invited to the Services Hub workspace (Unified/Services Hub scenario), or
        • Create the Engage Center Connector (Engage Center scenario).
      • Only users who are both Azure subscription owners and Log Analytics workspace owner or contributor can manage permissions for the workspace used by assessments.
    4. Link the subscription and Log Analytics workspace to Services Hub / Engage Center
      • Sign in to Services Hub with the Azure subscription owner’s credentials.
      • Go to IT Health → On-Demand Assessments → Get Started with Assessment.
      • Select the newly created (or existing) Azure subscription.
      • Choose an existing Log Analytics workspace or Create New for assessments.
      • Complete the linking and then select View assessments.
    5. Control spend to keep it effectively zero
      • On-Demand Assessments use a small amount of data; usage can be monitored under Usage and estimated cost in the Log Analytics workspace.
      • For sponsored accounts, charges are capped at $10 annually; once reached, assessments stop running rather than incurring additional cost.
      • Avoid deploying other Azure services in this subscription to keep spend at or near zero.

    This process results in a valid Azure subscription ID that can be used for Azure assessments with minimal or no effective spend, depending on which subscription option is chosen.

    References:

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