Describe management groups

As organizations grow and their use of Azure resources expands, management can become complex. Management groups help by providing a level of scope above subscriptions, allowing for more efficient and organized resource governance.

What Are Management Groups?

A management group is a container that helps you manage access, policy, and compliance for multiple subscriptions. You can build a flexible structure of management groups and subscriptions to organize your resources into a hierarchy.

The hierarchy of management groups and subscriptions provides a level of isolation and autonomy while still allowing for centralized governance. Each management group can contain multiple subscriptions and other management groups. This allows the creation of a tree-like structure that can go up to six levels deep, excluding the Root Management Group.

Features and Benefits of Management Groups

• Hierarchical Management: The tree structure of management groups helps in organizing subscriptions according to the needs of the business, which can reflect organizational structures or different projects and environments.
• Access Control: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) settings can be applied at the management group level which then cascades down to the subscriptions within the group. This simplifies access management across multiple subscriptions.
• Policy Application: Azure policies can be applied at the management group level, ensuring consistent governance and compliance across all subscriptions within the group.
• Compliance and Audit: With management group-level application of policies, you can readily track and enforce compliance standards.
• Cost Management: By grouping subscriptions together, you can aggregate and manage cloud costs more effectively, providing a clear view of expenditure across different parts and projects of the organization.

Example Hierarchy of Management Groups and Subscriptions

Suppose a global company called “Contoso Ltd” has various departments including IT, HR, and Marketing, each requiring their resources in Azure. Additionally, Contoso has operations in the US and Europe. The following hierarchy might be used:

• Root Management Group
  • IT Management Group
    • US IT Subscriptions
    • Europe IT Subscriptions
  • HR Management Group
    • US HR Subscriptions
    • Europe HR Subscriptions
  • Marketing Management Group
    • US Marketing Subscriptions
    • Europe Marketing Subscriptions

By setting up this structure, Contoso can apply specific policies and RBAC at each level, ensuring that all the US IT subscriptions, for example, can inherit the same policies and have the same role assignments.

Best Practices for Using Management Groups

• Limit Hierarchy Depth: While you can have a hierarchy that is up to six levels deep, a simpler structure can be easier to manage and troubleshoot.
• Centralize Management: Use the root management group for global policies and access controls that should apply to all subscriptions in your tenant.
• Align With Organizational Structures: Management groups should reflect your organization’s structure, making it easier to map Azure resources to business units, departments, or geographic regions.
• Naming Convention: Establish clear naming conventions for management groups to accurately reflect their purpose and simplify administration.
• Continuous Monitoring: Regularly review management group structures, role assignments, and policy definitions to ensure they are aligned with the organization’s current requirements.

In conclusion, Azure management groups are an essential tool for organizing and governing resources across multiple Azure subscriptions, especially for larger organizations and enterprises with complex structures. They provide the means to apply consistent governance models without sacrificing flexibility and are a key component of a well-managed Azure environment.