Technology is constantly evolving and software is always changing in order to become more useful, convenient, and effective. Microsoft Azure is one such innovation that unleashes the full potential of cloud computing.
Announced in 2008 by Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect, Ray Ozzie, the reach of cloud computing has exceeded the expectations of original projections and continues to have a strong presence in the tech industry.
The basis of Azure
A public cloud computing platform, Microsoft Azure was designed for business owners to manage their business challenges and help with organization. A tool that offers support to every industry, ranging from e-commerce to SaaS (Software as a Service) and also compatible with open source technologies, Microsoft Azure is the go-to for business management including storage, networking, virtual computing, cloud security challenges, and analytics. It is currently one of the best options for public cloud services on the market due to its flexibility, power, and price point.
Microsoft Azure is secure and protects against data loss
Considered a disaster recovery dream tool, Microsoft Azure has the capacity to back up data according to the user’s needs regardless of language, operating system, location, and frequency. Unlike traditional backups which are limited to hardware and makes it vulnerable to disasters, Microsoft Azure stores backups on three different locations in their data center, along with three other copies in remote locations, offering absolute security when it comes to data protection.
Azure site recovery can be used simultaneously with tape backup as it offers up to ninety-nine years of data retention, minimal expenditure, along with offsite replication. For Windows users, Azure has a built-in integration for additional backup which has proven to be painless and cohesive.
Azure offers over 200 different cloud computing services
A comprehensive platform that considers all aspects of every business, they have sorted their services into 20 sub-categories for their subscribers. Each of their products work towards building a seamless experience for their users. Some of their top categories are listed below.
Mobile
The products that Azure offers can help app developers with hosting, developing, and managing apps a dream. Their adaptive patch management tool, AutoScale, can automate apps and they also have integration for on-premise apps. Their tools and support makes Azure the ultimate platform for mobile app developers.
Web
Web application developers can also take advantage of Azure’s development and deployment services, rich with services that include API management, notification, reporting, and search function.
Compute
Compute resources created with Azure cloud can be configured accordingly, which makes it ideal for both internal and external usage. If the application is in-house, it can be kept private. Alternatively, if it is meant for the public, it can also be tweaked to meet those needs. Azure’s computing services allows users to deploy and manage VMs, containers, and batch jobs. Support is also readily available, as with every one of their products.
Storage
As mentioned above, Azure has scalable cloud storage for all types of data along with data protection, which is one of the reasons for its popularity with business owners, organizations and developers.
Analytics
Aside from analyzing data, Azure also plays host to real-time analytics, big data analytics, and data warehousing. It can also be used for machine learning, business intelligence, and internet of things data streams.
Development
Azure DevOps facilitate software development. With its features for application diagnostics, tool integration, and test labs for experimentation, it is quickly building towards a go-to standard for developers. They also offer services to help developers share code and track potential issues. The platform supports numerous programming languages which are not limited to JavaScript, Python, .NET and Node.js.
Blockchain
Budding blockchain innovators are welcomed to build their own blockchain consortium or join one with their Azure Blockchain Service.
Intune
Another one of Microsoft Azure’s offerings is known as Microsoft Intune which are used by organizations to push security policies or mobile apps onto enrolled devices. It provides tools for tracking, which can prove useful in remote working environments and it also promotes security by giving administrators the ability to remotely wipe any device while leaving the user’s mobile apps in place.
Azure is proving itself to be a multifaceted platform that can benefit any industry
Microsoft Azure offers scalability, flexibility, and security, which makes it the perfect resource rich platform for any organization to take advantage of. Businesses can gain valuable insights to help make better decisions as well as improving customer satisfaction. It is a full on cloud-computing platform that can be utilized in any way imaginable.
Once customers subscribe to their services, they will have full access to the Azure portal along with other third-party services that are hosting their services through Azure. While prices may vary depending on the services used, it is extremely cost-effective as users only need to pay for what they need instead of needing to buy an entire system only to utilize a handful of their services.
