Azure is Microsoft’s cloud platform, just like Google has its Google Cloud and Amazon has its Amazon Web Service or AWS.000. Generally, it is a platform through which we can use Microsoft’s resources. For example, to set up a huge server, we will require huge investment, effort, physical space, and so on. In such situations, Microsoft Azure comes to our rescue. It will provide us with virtual machines, fast processing of data, analytical and monitoring tools, and so on to make our work simpler.
Microsoft unveiled Windows Azure in early October 2008 but it went to live after February 2010. Later in 2014, Microsoft changed its name from Windows Azure to Microsoft Azure. Azure provided a service platform for .NET services, SQL Services, and many Live Services. Many people were still very skeptical about “the cloud”.
Azure can help our business in the following ways-
- Capital less: We don’t have to worry about the capital as Azure cuts out the high cost of hardware. You simply pay as you go and enjoy a subscription-based model that’s kind to your cash flow. Also, setting up an Azure account is very easy. You simply register in Azure Portal and select your required subscription and get going.
- Less Operational Cost: Azure has a low operational cost because it runs on its servers whose only job is to make the cloud functional and bug-free, it’s usually a whole lot more reliable than your own, on-location server.
- Cost Effective: If we set up a server on our own, we need to hire a tech support team to monitor them and make sure things are working fine. Also, there might be a situation where the tech support team is taking too much time to solve the issue incurred in the server. So, in this regard is way too pocket-friendly.
- Easy Back-Up and Recovery options: Azure keeps backups of all your valuable data. In disaster situations, you can recover all your data in a single click without your business getting affected. Cloud-based backup and recovery solutions save time, avoid large up-front investments and roll up third-party expertise as part of the deal.
Microsoft Azure Services
Following are some of the services Microsoft Azure offers:
Compute: Includes Virtual Machines, Virtual Machine Scale Sets, Functions for serverless computing, Batch for containerized batch workloads, Service Fabric for microservices and container orchestration, and Cloud Services for building cloud-based apps and APIs.
Networking: With Azure, you can use a variety of networking tools, like the Virtual Network, which can connect to on-premise data centres; Load Balancer; Application Gateway; VPN Gateway; Azure DNS for domain hosting, Content Delivery Network, Traffic Manager, ExpressRoute dedicated private network fiber connections; and Network Watcher monitoring and diagnostics
Storage: Includes Blob, Queue, File, and Disk Storage, as well as a Data Lake Store, Backup, and Site Recovery, among others.
Web + Mobile: Creating Web + Mobile applications is very easy as it includes several services for building and deploying applications.
Containers: Azure has a property that includes Container Service, which supports Kubernetes, DC/OS or Docker Swarm, and Container Registry, as well as tools for microservices.
Databases: Azure also included several SQL-based databases and related tools.
