Microsoft Azure provides Infrastructure as a Service. Basically, this means that you access and manage your infrastructure through the Cloud. You no longer have to make investments in buying and managing physical servers. You don’t have to pay for heating, cooling or power either!
Azure is a Cloud platform that enables you to no longer invest in hardware. You access your server and software data via an Internet connection to Microsoft’s data center rather than having costly hardware onsite. There are many ways in which you can deploy Microsoft Azure within your business, whether that’s by migrating to Microsoft 365 (because that’s part of Azure too!), your server infrastructure or through a disaster recovery solution.
What is Microsoft Azure?
Microsoft Azure is a Cloud platform of more than 200 products and Cloud services. It is designed to help you bring new solutions to life – to solve today’s challenges and create the future. In Azure, you can build, run and manage applications across multiple Clouds or on-premises – with tools and frameworks of your choice.
Azure aims to help businesses manage challenges and meet their goals. It offers tools that support all industries, including manufacturing, professional services and more. It is compatible with open source technologies, providing users with the flexibility to use their preferred tools and technologies, combining their own systems to suit the business. In addition, Azure offers 4 different forms of Cloud computing: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS and serverless.
Now that we have established what it is, we now need to talk about the business benefits of Microsoft Azure and how the investment is worthwhile. We thought in this blog we would put the business benefits of Azure together, so that you can see how your business could achieve more through an Azure deployment.
Business Benefits of Azure
1. Security
There’s always a misconception that putting your data into the Cloud is not a good idea. This is a myth. Think of your server locked away in its cabinet in your office building. The only thing protecting it is a lock and CCTV, if you have some. If you migrate your server to Azure then it is protected by the spy-movie environment of Microsoft’s data centers.
Whether it’s in London, Dublin or one of the other UK sites; your data could not be more secure. Access to the data centers is controlled through two-tier authentication, including proxy card access readers and hand geometry biometric readers. Microsoft also have a global incident response team that work around the clock to deal with any cyber threats as well.
2. Cost
Investing in new infrastructure is always a large investment of capital expenditure. With Azure this is no longer an issue. Instead of replacing your servers every five years you essentially rent your server from Microsoft for a smaller monthly cost making it an operating expenditure like Office 365. You also don’t have to consider the cost of heating, cooling or powering your servers anymore because Microsoft will do it all for you.
3. Scalability
One of the great things about Microsoft Azure is that it is scalable and you only pay for what you need. If you choose to host your website in Azure, then a great example of this would be something like Glastonbury or the V Festival. These festival websites experience high levels of traffic at peak times during the year when tickets go on sale and the rest of the time their traffic would be considerably lower.
If they implemented hosting in Azure then they would be able to scale their solution based upon traffic increases. It’s the same with many aspects of Azure, if you need more you just scale up and then scale down again when you need to.
4. Hybrid Deployment
Unlike Amazon Web Services’ Cloud only approach, Azure is flexible in it allowing you to do a hybrid deployment. This way you are able to take advantage of your on-premise resources as well as the benefits of the Cloud.
5. Back Up and Disaster Recovery
Backing up your data to the Cloud is both cost-effective and smart. You get 99 years of retention and you don’t have to worry about taking tapes or hard drives offsite. With Site Recovery, Azure’s form of disaster recovery, you can either recover at a secondary site or straight into the Cloud. Azure’s Backup and Disaster Recovery gives you confidence that what needs to happen in the background is happening.
6. Compliance
Microsoft makes every effort to ensure that the data in its Cloud is protected. Azure is built around the privacy and security demands of business needs. Microsoft provides the most comprehensive set of compliance offerings compared with any other Cloud service provider. If you work in sectors like legal and finance you can be confident that your data is being stored compliant with regulations.
If you have questions regarding migration to Microsoft Azure or IT in general please feel free to get in touch.
4 Things You Can Do in Microsoft Azure
Here are 4 uses of Microsoft Azure that you could consider. So, what is Microsoft Azure used for?
Storage in Microsoft Azure
One of the primary uses that we have seen organisations use Microsoft Azure for is storage. Instead of having to budget capital expenditure for hardware and then pay for heating, power and cooling you can instead use Azure for your storage solutions. You would only need to pay for what you need, removing redundancy costs. Azure can be used for your file storage or your disk storage for your virtual machines. A great way we have seen the storage solutions used in Azure is through its back up and disaster recovery option. Instead of having to invest in extra storage hardware just in case something goes wrong with your server, you can restore your data in the Cloud until a new server arrives.
Web and Mobile Apps in Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure enables applications to be easily created, tested and deployed in the Cloud. A variety of different programming languages can be used including .NET, Python, Java and PHP. Developers have the ability to access a range of pre-built APIs making it easy to connect to Cloud services like Office 365 and Salesforce.
Data and Analytics in Microsoft Azure
When it comes to data and analytics there are lots of ways that your business can gain intelligence. With Machine Learning, you can easily build and deploy predictive analytics solutions. With Azure’s analytics tools you can process data quickly and on demand without needing to worry about managing infrastructure.
Internet of Things in Microsoft Azure
The Internet of Things is growing and growing. Fridges are starting to replenish themselves and switching a light of has never been more easy. In Azure you can use the IoT hub to connect and manage millions of different devices. You will be able to access real time data and establish reliable communication between devices.
While we have decided to focus on just 4 areas of Microsoft Azure to give you a taste of what is available, there is so much more to it. There’s AI and Cognitive Services, Networking, Security and Identity tools and so much more.
These are our reasons and benefits of using Microsoft Azure in your business. If you have any questions, or want to discuss the business benefits of Azure then please call 01675 469020 or email hello@acutec.co.uk.
