The Future of Cloud with Microsoft Azure

The future of cloud computing is Azure and so much more Azure.

For years, Microsoft has been creating a world where every computing, mobile, and smart device connects with Azure, becoming the cloud computing backbone used by a worldwide network of partners. To support the digital transformational journey of millions of companies, Azure is already a step ahead in including developments in Big Data, AI, Machine Learning, IoT, and Edge computing. It is positioning the Azure cloud services platform to be right in the middle of the future wave of AI-powered innovations and aims to push its partners through development, investments, and incentives to increase Azure usage. A lot is moving to the cloud, which presents many opportunities for companies that they shouldn't miss.

But we feel there are some fundamental questions and details we need to discuss for our prospective clients before embracing Azure with open arms. We hope this blog does justice to all those questions that are so important.

The first and foremost question – Is Azure Safe?

It has been established that securing the data center infrastructure is a considerable cost and gives hardly any ROI. Protecting the infrastructure while reducing costs and complexity has been a challenge for many big and small companies, and Azure is a gamechanger in this area.

Microsoft Azure offers a secure foundation across physical, infrastructure, and operational security. Microsoft invests over a billion dollars every year into security, including the security of the Azure platform, so that the data of their clients and business assets can be protected with utmost security.

Some of the Microsoft Azure cloud security products are:

• Security Center – Unify security management and enables advanced threat protection for work in the cloud and on-premise

• Key Vault – Safeguard cryptographic keys and other secrets used by cloud apps and services

• DDoS Protection – Protect the Azure resources from denial-of-service threats

• Azure Information Protection – Control and help secure email, documents, and sensitive data shared outside the company

• Application Gateway – Protect the applications from common web vulnerabilities and exploits with a built-in web application firewall

• Cloud Application Security – Provides visibility, control over data travel, and analytics to identify and combat cyber threats across all Microsoft cloud services

Microsoft Azure provides more than just encryption and firewall, and protects data by safety precautions such as:

• Automatic encryption

• Automated smart traffic monitoring

• Protected hardware and firmware

• Smart access control

• Investing in encrypted VPNs

Microsoft's investments across infrastructure, hardware, and experts are unmatched and provide a secure infrastructure for data centers composed of segregated networks, well-maintained hardware and firmware, and industry-leading operational security processes. With each new release, the cloud computing services offered by Microsoft Azure are more secure and trustworthy.

A prime discovery made by many – What customers are using Azure?

Microsoft Azure provides the necessary support and infrastructure to some of the biggest companies worldwide. From healthcare, manufacturing, consumer appliances, the travel industry, and the aviation industry, Microsoft Azure's adaptability is a crucial attribute for cloud service providers to make a choice.

Some of the famous companies benefiting from Azure are:

• Intel

• NTT America

• CenturyLink

• MSI Computer

• Adobe

• Verizon

• eBay

• LG electronics

• Travelocity

• Wikimedia Foundation

• LinkedIn Corp.

• News Corp

• Samsung

• Boeing

• BMW

• GE Healthcare

Note: These brands are not mentioned chronologically to portray the company's size or the scale of their investments.

However, the list of customers for Azure also includes small start-ups or mid-size companies across industries, locations, verticals, or businesses. They find Azure to be a perfect fit for them despite the scale or sector they work in. This is another reason Azure is becoming popular by the day and having 54 Azure regions in 140 countries adds to a massive advantage for clients and Microsoft both. Another attribute contributing to Azure's growth is its extensive list of 200+ products and cloud services. These products and services range from databases to virtual desktops to quantum computing and machine learning applications. Below; is a list of the top five services that are talked about the most.

• Messaging – Event Hubs, Queues, Topics, and Relays

• Mobile Services – Mobile Engagement and HockeyApp

• Compute – Virtual Machines, App Services, Websites, and WebJobs

• Storage Services – REST and SDK APIs, Table, Blob, Queue, and File Services

• Data Management – Azure Search, Cosmo DB, Redis Cache, StorSimple, SQL Database, SQL Data Warehouse, Azure Data Lake, Azure HDInsight, and Azure Stream Analytics

A popular question asked by many – Will Azure save me money?

One of the best features of Azure as compared to other clouds is the pay-as-you-go feature. It promises to meet any organization's business needs with competitive and flexible pricing. Microsoft Azure is five times more competitive than AWS. The pricing terms are transparent, and companies can save a lot with a monthly pay model.

The highlights of Azure pricing are:

• Pay only for the resources one would use

• The monthly model starts as low as $29

• Azure matches AWS pricing, a lot easier for comparison on other features

• One can calculate the costs with a pricing calculator

• Explore enterprise-grade price management tools for free

• Can compare the total cost of ownership on-premise infra

• Easily monitor cloud consumption & cost trends anytime

Here is an overview of Azure's pricing, detailed information on various plans can be found here.

Is a question close to a stage of deciding – Can I try Azure services?

Yes, you can try Azure cloud solutions for free and not just for a month or two, but for 12 months. Selected Microsoft Azure services can be evaluated and experimented with for as long as and however needed. There's also a credit of 200USD to be used in the first 30 days, which is a popular feature in Azure's pricing model.

Azure is one of the best cloud computing technology service providers, and with its free trial and pay as you use the model, companies save a lot and prefer Azure a lot.

The Bottom Line

While there are various cloud migration service providers, Microsoft Azure cloud services come with remarkable features that provide seamlessness in multiple situations and offer more than just cloud storage. It will advance the company's growth, stability, and business fluency, and the best part of Microsoft Azure is, it can be a perfect fit for small to large businesses.

If you are on the verge of shifting to a cloud computing technology, Microsoft Azure will be a great solution and a necessary and beneficial investment for the future. With Microsoft Azure by your side, your company can excel and be future-ready to understand and comprehend the upcoming market needs.

Azure Journey with Extentia

At Extentia, we are pioneers in designing, maintaining, and implementing applications on the cloud. Our cloud computing solutions, cloud infrastructure services, and other cloud-based services ensure that you get nothing less than the best. We support our clients to effortlessly transition their IT infrastructure to the cloud to leverage benefits. Therefore, we genuinely believe that moving to the cloud can be a great business strategy if done efficiently and seamlessly.

Our work in Microsoft Azure goes a long way across industries and the scale of the businesses. Using integrations with SharePoint Online or on-premise, we have delivered solutions on Azure for thousands of companies over the years. We proudly believe we have everything a company needs to build an upscale. We support our clients with strategizing, consulting, assessments, cloud partner selection, data migration and offer unwavering ongoing support. To know more about our work in Microsoft Azure that matches your requirement, reach out to us here inquiries@extentia.com

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