If you are already in the cloud computing and information technology space, Microsoft Azure is most likely familiar to you. For those who do not know what Microsoft Azure is, it is a cloud platform with over 200 products and cloud services designed to help enterprises and organizations overcome challenges and innovate around data management, DevOps, security, and much more.
Interested in learning how Azure can benefit your business? According to the expert consultants at EPC Group, at its most fundamental applications, Azure provides solutions in a three-tier package including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).
What is Microsoft Azure?
In the industry definition, Azure is both a cloud computing platform and an online portal that allows users to access and manage cloud services and tools provided by Microsoft. Users can store and transform data depending on their use case. To obtain access to those business tools, users need access to the internet and the ability to connect to the Azure portal.
Helpful and Key Information on Azure:
- Launched in 2010 and is a direct competitor to Amazon Web Services (AWS).
- You can start for free, but then follow a “pay-per-use” model, which means users only pay for the services they need.
- According to Statista.com, almost 70% of organizations worldwide use Azure.
- Supports multiple programming languages such as Java, Node Js, and C#.
- Has a network of data centers around the world (with plans to build more)
Practical Use Cases for Azure
Azure is also known for hosting databases in the Microsoft cloud. Microsoft provides serverless relational databases like Azure SQL and non-relational databases like NoSQL. The platform is also often utilized for backup and disaster recovery to prevent data loss during unexpected events. For example, many enterprises today use Azure Storage as an archive to meet their long-term data retention requirements. Microsoft also categorizes Azure cloud services into nearly two dozen categories.
Because Azure consists of multiple service offerings, its use cases are very diverse and require someone with the correct knowledge to know which ones to use. This is where contacting a Microsoft-certified consultant can be of great help! However, popular use cases for Azure involve running virtual machines or containers in the cloud.
Reasons to Adopt Azure for Your Business
Microsoft Azure is a popular and trusted solution known for its versatility, integrated delivery pipeline, security, disaster recovery, and fast service speed. Many customers around the world state the platform is cost-efficient and is used by a majority of IT companies.
Here is a list of reasons to adopt Azure into your enterprise infrastructure:
Development of Applications
The ability to create any web application for business needs.
Testing of Applications
After successfully developing an application, you can test it.
Hosting Applications
Upon completion of the test phase, Azure can help with hosting.
Creating Virtual Machines
The ability to create virtual machines in a configuration with assistance from Azure.
Integrating and Syncing Features
The capability to integrate and sync virtual devices and directories.
Collecting and Storing Metrics
Users can collect and store metrics to help determine what works and what does not.
Access to Virtual Hard Drives
They provide a large amount of data storage and are extensions of virtual machines.
Interesting Related Article: “Why is Getting a Microsoft Azure Certification Significant?“