Optimizing DevOps on Azure for the Insurance Sector with Enteros: A Cloud FinOps-Driven Approach to Database Performance

Introduction

The insurance industry is undergoing rapid digital transformation, embracing cloud-native architectures, advanced analytics, and automated workflows to meet customer expectations and remain competitive. Microsoft Azure has emerged as a preferred cloud platform for many insurers due to its scalability, integration with enterprise tools, and compliance with regulatory standards.

However, with digital acceleration comes complexity—especially in managing large-scale databases, ensuring application performance, and controlling cloud costs. Insurers must balance innovation with financial governance and operational reliability. This is where Enteros, an advanced database performance monitoring and optimization platform, becomes a vital enabler.

In this blog, we explore how Enteros supports DevOps initiatives on Azure for insurance companies by improving database performance, enabling cost-efficient cloud operations through FinOps, and streamlining cross-functional collaboration across development, IT, and finance teams.

The Need for Database Performance Optimization in Insurance

Complex Digital Infrastructure

Modern insurance organizations run a diverse array of systems such as policy administration, claims processing, underwriting engines, fraud detection platforms, and customer portals. These applications rely heavily on structured and unstructured data stored in a variety of databases—often hosted in hybrid or multi-cloud environments, including Azure SQL Database, Cosmos DB, and PostgreSQL on Azure.

These systems must run 24/7 with minimal downtime. Even brief performance lags in processing claims, generating quotes, or accessing customer records can affect business operations and customer satisfaction.

Data-Intensive Workflows

Insurance is inherently data-driven. Actuarial modeling, risk assessment, and regulatory reporting all depend on high-performance databases that process large datasets in real time or near real time. Performance issues can result in delayed insights and poor business decisions.

Regulatory Pressure

The insurance sector operates under strict regulatory frameworks. Accurate, timely, and auditable data operations are non-negotiable. Poorly performing systems increase the risk of non-compliance and potential penalties.

Cloud Cost Challenges

As insurers migrate workloads to Azure, managing the costs of cloud infrastructure—especially database services—becomes a strategic priority. Without real-time visibility and intelligent cost attribution, expenses can escalate quickly.

The Role of DevOps in the Insurance Sector

DevOps practices are helping insurance companies accelerate innovation by enabling continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD), automated testing, and infrastructure as code (IaC). Azure DevOps tools support agile software development and help teams push updates faster and more reliably.

However, successful DevOps adoption depends on the ability to monitor and optimize backend database performance. Developers, DBAs, and IT Ops teams need shared visibility and proactive alerts to resolve issues early in the development lifecycle.

How Enteros Supports DevOps, Azure, and Cloud FinOps in Insurance

Enteros delivers a unified platform designed to support enterprises that rely on data-heavy applications and cloud environments. Here’s how it addresses the specific needs of insurers operating on Azure.

1. Advanced Database Performance Monitoring on Azure

Enteros UpBeat monitors databases across Azure services such as Azure SQL Database, Cosmos DB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and others. It continuously analyzes thousands of performance metrics using statistical learning algorithms that detect anomalies, seasonal trends, and spikes.

Benefits:

• Real-time alerting for slow queries, CPU bottlenecks, or I/O overloads

• Historical performance analysis to identify recurring patterns

• Visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud database environments

• Support for both OLTP and OLAP workloads

2. Enabling DevOps Collaboration

Enteros bridges the gap between DevOps, database administrators (DBAs), and operations teams by offering shared dashboards, automated insights, and contextual recommendations.

Key features:

• Database insights integrated into CI/CD workflows

• Faster troubleshooting during application rollouts

• Clear feedback loops between development and infrastructure teams

• Reduced downtime during deployments due to early detection of DB-related issues

This collaborative environment ensures that database health is an integral part of software delivery pipelines, minimizing post-deployment failures.

3. Cloud FinOps for Cost Optimization on Azure

Enteros empowers insurance companies to manage and reduce cloud costs while maintaining performance. Its FinOps framework includes:

• Real-time visibility into Azure database service usage and spending

• Intelligent cost attribution by workload, department, or region

• Identification of underutilized or idle resources

• Recommendations for right-sizing compute and storage

• Reserved Instance (RI) analysis for long-term cost savings

By integrating FinOps best practices, insurance companies can optimize their Azure investments and improve their financial predictability.

4. Proactive Anomaly Detection with AIOps

Enteros uses machine learning algorithms to proactively detect anomalies in database behavior—such as sudden increases in latency, unexpected query volume, or unusual resource consumption.

This approach allows insurance companies to:

• Prevent performance degradation before it affects users

• Minimize the impact of system failures during high-volume periods (e.g., open enrollment)

• Automate root cause analysis and speed up incident resolution

• Free up technical staff to focus on innovation rather than firefighting

5. Supporting Regulatory Compliance

With its audit-friendly data trails and detailed performance logs, Enteros helps insurance companies maintain compliance with data governance and operational regulations. Its detailed reporting supports internal audits, SLA enforcement, and regulatory documentation.

6. Use Case: Policy Management System Optimization

An international insurer running a large policy management application on Azure was experiencing performance degradation during peak periods such as open enrollment. After deploying Enteros, the organization was able to:

• Identify inefficient SQL joins and resource contention in Azure SQL Database

• Reduce average query execution time by 60%

• Lower Azure database service costs by 35% through workload optimization and instance right-sizing

• Eliminate over 75% of manual tickets raised due to performance complaints

• Establish a DevOps feedback loop that improved application quality and deployment speed

Strategic Benefits for Insurance Firms

• Faster application delivery cycles with integrated performance visibility

• Reduced cloud spending and improved forecasting accuracy

• Better SLA adherence through proactive incident prevention

• Streamlined collaboration across DevOps, IT Ops, and Finance

• More reliable data operations supporting underwriting and claims processing

• Enhanced customer experience through responsive digital platforms

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What types of Azure databases does Enteros support?

Enteros supports a wide range of Azure-hosted databases, including Azure SQL Database, Cosmos DB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, MySQL, and hybrid/on-premises environments.

How does Enteros fit into an existing DevOps pipeline?

Enteros integrates with Azure DevOps and other CI/CD tools. It provides automated performance feedback during builds, tests, and deployments, helping teams detect issues early in the software lifecycle.

Is Enteros useful for cost allocation across departments?

Yes. Enteros offers detailed cost attribution features, allowing insurers to assign cloud database costs to specific departments, applications, or regions. This supports financial accountability and better budgeting.

Can Enteros help with regulatory compliance?

Yes. Enteros provides detailed logs, performance history, and audit-ready reports that help insurers meet compliance requirements for data integrity and system availability.

What kind of ROI can we expect from using Enteros?

Insurance companies typically see a return on investment through reduced cloud costs, improved system availability, faster deployment cycles, and reduced time spent on manual performance troubleshooting.

How long does it take to implement Enteros?

Deployment can be completed within a few days, depending on the complexity of your environment. Most organizations begin to see benefits within the first few weeks of use.

Is Enteros suitable for legacy applications as well as modern cloud-native apps?

Yes. Enteros supports both legacy and modern application stacks. It is designed to monitor databases across various platforms and architectures, making it versatile for mixed environments.