Azure is primarily a public cloud computing platform whose solutions include Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Services such as analytics, virtualization, storage, networking, and much more can be offered using these solutions. They can be used to replace on-premise servers or to supplement them.
Azure is a fast, scalable, and cost-effective public cloud platform and its pricing and features make it the best public cloud option available today. Now let’s look at how you can make it work for you.
1. Backup and disaster recovery enhancements and implementation
Its flexibility, built-in integration, and advanced site recovery capabilities make Azure the backup and disaster recovery tool of choice.
With Azure, you can backup your data from almost any location using almost any language, OS, and location, and you determine how often and how much you want to backup (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).
The use of tape backup is limited as a standalone backup and disaster recovery solution, but it has its own time and place. With Azure site recovery, your tape backup can be enhanced with offsite replication, minimal onsite maintenance, up to ninety-nine years of data retention, minimal or no capital investment, and low operational costs. Using Azure Backup, you can store three copies of your data in three different locations inside the data center, and three more in a remote Azure data center, so you never worry about losing data.
Using Azure’s built-in backup integration will be a quick and painless solution if you’re running Windows virtual machines. Site Recovery in Azure integrates seamlessly with System Center and HyperV architectures, enabling robust and seamless cohesion between Azure, System Center, and HyperV.
2. Develop and host mobile and web apps
Azure makes your web and mobile apps autonomous and adaptive with patch management, AutoScale, and integration for on-premise apps, regardless of whether you host, develop, or manage them.
By automating patch management for your virtual machines, you can spend less time managing your infrastructure and more time improving your applications. Continuous deployment is also supported by Azure, which makes updating code easier.
When AutoScale is enabled, Azure Web Apps will automatically adjust your resources according to web traffic, so you can have the resources you need when there is a lot of traffic, and save money when you are not at peak times.
Azure allows you to seamlessly connect your web app to an on-premises app. Employees and partners can securely access resources inside your firewall if you connect applications in both locations, resources otherwise impossible to reach externally.
3. Active Directory distribution and supplementation
Active Directory integration with Azure enhances your identity and access management capabilities, which gives your DNS a global reach, centralized management, and robust security.
Direct connect enabled Active Directory environments can be distributed globally through Azure. Azure offers a unique combination of extending the reach of your domain controller and consolidating AD management.
You can use Active Directory integration with Azure to manage and maintain all of your on-premises and cloud apps, including Microsoft 365 if you have multiple sites or use cloud apps like Microsoft 365.
With Azure, you can also use multi-factor authentication, which adds a new layer of security to your data and applications without adding any hassle for your users. You can also easily implement single sign-on for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS cloud applications.
4. Solutions for IoT-enabled industries
Microsoft Azure combines scalability, flexibility, and security, making it ideal for companies considering IoT solutions. By connecting your devices to the cloud, you can start collecting new data about your business and connect them to your existing infrastructure.
Azure IoT Hub allows you to monitor, manage, and gain insight into billions of devices and use that data to make smarter decisions, improve customer experiences, reduce complexity, reduce costs, and speed up development.
With Azure’s enhanced security, IoT solutions have an edge over traditional ones, which tend to have security gaps that hackers can exploit. The benefits of Azure’s enhanced security include remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, and analytics.
With Azure IoT solution accelerators and preconfigured templates that can be customized to fit your needs, you can get started quickly.
How will you use Azure?
There is much more Azure can do for your environment than these four services. The cloud-computing capabilities of Microsoft are not limited to their defined services; you can use it in almost any way you want.
Take a look at the services and get a free trial and $200 worth of credits if you’re ready to try them out. The pricing calculator will give you an idea of the cost. If you need help implementing Azure or have questions about other ways you could use it, talk to one of our sales engineers and we’ll help you plan and choose the tools that are right for you.
