Why You Should Use Microsoft Azure for Your Business

Many businesses are still not moving to the cloud platform. They have concerns about moving their applications to the cloud. Companies still have some fears about potential downtime, availability, and network security. These things can affect the decisions of the chief decision-maker. Due to this, some businesses are still using legacy technology which is aging every minute.

Microsoft Azure can help you in solving all your issues. If you want to move your applications to the cloud, then Azure is the perfect option for you. In this article, we are going to break down the entire Azure architecture.

What is MS Azure?

Microsoft is expanding its cloud business. They are building data centers everywhere in the world. Thus, Azure is one of the largest cloud providers in the world. You can use Azure for building, managing, and deploying your services from anywhere in the world. Azure is also providing PaaS or Platform as a service model to their users. This will help you in adding cloud features to your existing network. If you don’t want to manage your own network, then you can also go for the Infrastructure as a service option.

MS will provide you reliable and secure access to your cloud data. The entire Azure architecture is built on already proven Microsoft architecture. Azure is currently expanding their cloud products. They are trying to provide the best cloud products to their users. Thus, you can find whatever you want on Azure. Azure will meet all your needs. You can also manage everything from a single platform. This is perfect for large enterprises.

Features of MS Azure

Microsoft is regularly adding new services to its catalog. You will find almost every cloud service on Azure. This ensures that you can easily build your virtual network. You can deliver your applications and services to your global audience. Some of the main features provided by MS Azure are:

1. Virtual Machines

You can create Linux or Microsoft VMs in Azure. It will take only a few minutes to launch your own new virtual machine. There are hundreds of templates available on azure and you can also create your own custom image if you want. These cloud-based Virtual Machines will help you in hosting your services and applications. It will ensure that your applications and services are safe.

2. SQL databases

Azure is also offering managed SQL databases to its customers. You can have an unlimited number of SQL databases in Azure. There is no limit on SQL databases. This will help you in saving a lot of money as you don’t need to worry about buying software and hardware. Also, you don’t need to worry about any in-house expertise.

3. Application services

Azure will help you in creating and deploying your applications. You can deploy your applications to a global audience. These applications will be compatible with all portable platforms. Azure will also give you reliable and scalable cloud access. This will ensure that you can quickly respond to your business flows. You can save a lot of time and money by deploying your applications on the Azure platform.

Azure is also launching Azure WebApps on their Marketplace. This will help you in managing your production phase. You can easily test and deploy your web applications. This will help you in quickly scaling up your business. You will also get access to prebuilt APIs for other cloud services like Salesforce and Office 365. Thus, your developers can quickly complete your projects.

4. Active Directory service

This service will help you remotely manage your group policy and authentication. It is similar to the Windows Active Directory service. Thus, you can count on its reliability. This service will help you in moving your existing security structure to the cloud.

5. Storage

You don’t need to worry about any storage issues if you are using MS Azure. MS global infrastructure is very safe. You will get access to highly accessible data storage. Thus, you don’t need to worry about any accessibility and security issues. You will get access to a scalable infrastructure. There are various cost-effective storage plans available on MS azure. You can find the best plan for your business.

6. Visual Studio Team Services

Azure is also providing Visual Studio Team services to its customers. This service offers an ALM solution to the developers. Developers can use this for sharing and tracking code changes. If multiple developers are working on the same project, then Visual Studio Team services are very important for your business. Developers can also use this for performing load testing. It will help you in simplifying the entire development process. Thus, you can build large projects by using Visual Studio Team Services.

Why companies are moving to MS Azure?

Cloud is the future of our world. Almost every company will be using the cloud by 2025. On-premise data centers have become obsolete. They are replaced by affordable cloud solutions. Cloud is helping companies in saving billions of dollars every year. Large organizations have also entered the cloud service sphere. You can choose between AWS, IBM, and Google Cloud. However, still many large companies like GE, BMW, and 3M are moving their workloads to Azure. Some of the main reasons behind this are:

1. Flexibility

The best thing about Azure is that it provides flexibility to the users. You can easily spin up new services if you are using Azure. If you want to scale up your services, then all you need to do is upgrade your plan. You can expand your storage in seconds. If you are still relying on a static data center, then you need to buy new hardware and OS for scaling up your infrastructure. You also need to deal with deployment and provision challenges. All this wastes a lot of time and money. You can save this money and time by using Azure.

2. Cost

Azure solutions are also cheaper when compared to other cloud and on-premise options. You can save a lot of money by using Azure cloud services. Infrastructure devices like load balancers and routers are very expensive. Your IT bill can rise up to thousands of dollars. You also need to hire IT experts for running this equipment. This will increase your IT budget. If you are using Microsoft’s massive infrastructure, then you can reduce your IT budget by a large factor.

3. Applications

Azure is offering services like Visual Studio Application Insights and Visual Studio Team Services. Also, they are offering Azure’s scalable service to their customers. Your developers can easily move your applications from the test to production mode. MS is also offering discounts to new customers for moving their applications to Azure. This will help you in saving even more money.

4. Disaster recovery

It is important to ensure that you are protecting your business from disasters. Disasters like cyberattacks, floods, and earthquakes can shake your entire business. The best thing about Azure is that they have a geographically decentralized infrastructure. They are not focusing on some specific geographical area. This will ensure that your important data and applications can run from other redundant sites. You will get time to recover your applications and data as MS will always backup your data in multiple locations. Azure will help you in maintaining business continuity. You can’t achieve this is if you are still using an in-house data center. It is impossible to beat Microsoft as they have data centers in almost every location.

5. PaaS and IaaS capabilities

Azure offers a perfect combination of PaaS and IaaS services to their clients. IaaS will help you in outsourcing your entire IT infrastructure to Azure. You will only pay for the services that you are using. PaaS will help you in creating your own web solutions and apps. You don’t need to worry about buying and maintaining anything.

6. Security

Azure is using Security Development Cycle (SDL) for protecting its assets. SDL is considered the best security process for large enterprises. In simple words, Azure gives top priority to its security. They are offering private services and data to their clients. Azure also has the best compliance coverage. They are covering more than 50 security compliance. Even U.S. government institutions trust the Azure platform. Azure is the first cloud provider to embrace the Cloud privacy ISO 27018 standard. MS is giving the topmost priority to security. Thus, you don’t need to worry about data security. Organizations that are operating in the healthcare and financial sector need to follow various security compliances. Thus, they generally don’t move to the cloud platforms. However, you don’t need to worry about violating these compliances if you are using the Azure platform. Azure is following all the standard security regulations.

7. Intelligence capabilities

Azure is offering both NoSQL and SQL data services to their clients. They are also offering built-in support to their clients. You can use these services for analyzing your data. It will help you in gathering key insights from your data. You can use these insights for improving your business processes. Also, it will help you in improving your decision-making process. Azure is also offering ML, Cognitive APIs, bots, and Blockchain as a service to their clients.

8. Identity and Access Management

Azure is offering IAM capabilities with Active Directory service. This service will ensure that the right user is accessing the right information. Azure is helping organizations in adopting IAM capabilities. This will help you in reducing your identity management costs.

9. You can easily integrate your service with other MS tools

Most businesses are using MS services for doing their daily work. Tools like SharePoint, Office 365, and Outlook are very important for organizations. You can easily integrate these tools with Azure cloud services. This is one of the main advantages of using Azure. You can easily integrate your entire MS workspace.

Azure is also using VMs for providing its services. These VMs are similar to your in-house workstations. This will help you in solving the integration issues. You can save both your money and time by using Azure.

10. You can customize your solutions

Azure is currently the leader in both PaaS and IaaS space. This gives a lot of advantages to Azure. Azure is using its position to provide better and cost-efficient services to its clients. If you are using IaaS services, then you will only pay for the resources that you are using. This is a boon for modern businesses. You will only pay for the stuff that you are actually using. Azure PaaS services will help you in building the services and apps that you need. You can customize your cloud software according to your business needs. This will help you in tackling your business-specific problems. Other small cloud providers can’t provide such flexibility to their users.

These are the main advantages of Azure. You will get access to the MS huge infrastructure. Also, constant services and application development will help you in quickly building your applications. MS has a strong presence in the IT marketplace. More than 2/3rds of the Fortune 500 companies are using Azure. This shows how much companies trust Microsoft. However, Azure is not limited to large enterprises only. It is also perfect for SMBs and startups. The infinite scalability will ensure that you can easily grow your business.

How Bleuwire can help your Business?

Cloud migration is still a puzzle for organizations. You need to hire cloud experts if you want to move your data to the cloud. However, the hiring process can be extremely costly. You can save this money by working with a good MSP like Bleuwire. Bleuwire will handle the entire cloud migration process. They will help you in moving your applications and data to the cloud. You don’t need to worry about hiring in-house cloud experts for the migration process. Bleuwire will ensure that your network is still up during the entire migration process. If you need more information regarding IT services, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.