#1 most frequent
United States of America
39.0%238,120 installations of 611,263
What is Microsoft Azure?
Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform and infrastructure for building, deploying, and managing applications and services through a global network of Microsoft-managed datacenters.
Categories & Use Cases
Product Demos
Top Performing Features
Service-level Agreement (SLA) uptime
The service uptime as a percentage defined in the SLA
Category average: 8.6
Elastic load balancing
Automatic balancing and distribution of resources across multiple virtual computers
Category average: 8.5
Security controls
Compliance with security protocols like SSL and AES
Category average: 8.1
Areas for Improvement
Pre-configured templates
Pre-defined templates for virtual machines
Category average: 7.5
Pre-defined machine images
Range of different server configurations available
Category average: 7.7
Automation
Automation of administrative tasks
Category average: 7.7
Who Buys & Uses Microsoft Azure
#2 most frequent
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
7.9%48,157 installations of 611,263
#3 most frequent
India
6.5%39,644 installations of 611,263
Pros
- Scalability and flexibility to adapt to changing resource needs.
- Ease of use in areas like cost tracking and access management.
- Integration with existing Microsoft products and services.
Cons
- Complexity and opacity of pricing and billing structures.
- Inconsistent user experience requiring extensive knowledge.
- Need for improvement in the accessibility and effectiveness of support services.
A powerful platform to integrate Microsoft services
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Our organization uses Microsoft Azure cloud platform for the enterprise-level workflows. For example, we integrate it with Microsoft infrastructure, like Office365, Active Directory, API management and Teams.
Pros
- API Management
- Connect the existing on-premises systems to cloud solutions
- Its cloud computing, analytics, and storage services.
Cons
- The support is weak
- Crossing platform issues
- Deployment issues
Return on Investment
- Reliable cloud services
- The use of AI technology
- Easy to manage
Usability
Alternatives Considered
AWS Auto Scaling and Google Cloud Platform
Other Software Used
Google Cloud Platform, AWS Backup, ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Microsoft Copilot
Quick scaling with easy integration
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Microsoft Azure houses the infrastructure for public facing websites
Pros
- Ability to scale out the environment
- Easy to find the details of each resource cost
- Ability to separate roles
Cons
- The cost of each resource is easy to find but the amount is not as clear when it is first setup
- Along lines of cost, the costs in “marketplace” should be included in the billing to Microsoft and not separate
Return on Investment
- We are able to scale up at any point within a very short period of time
Usability
Alternatives Considered
AWS Lambda
Other Software Used
Python IDLE, GitHub
Microsoft Azure is going places
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
I purchase and keep track of licenses for users. Create sharepoint sites, add and remove users etc. Microsoft Azure is easy to use once you start using it. The security aspect is also improved - making it easier to block sign-ins and more. MFA and policies have also improved, making it easier to manage end users and admins.
Pros
- manage users
- easy to edit policies
Cons
- the users b/t exchange and cloud -
- better Microsoft Graph management
- improve the Bulk Changes feature - bulk add users AND the sharepoint sites they are a member of
Return on Investment
- Positive impact on the functionality within my job
- positive overall
- unsure about ROI
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Certificate Authority Service by Google Cloud, Sophos Central Device Encryption and Barracuda Backup
Other Software Used
Salesforce CMS, ON24, Higher Logic Thrive
Microsoft Azure - Enterprise Power and Complexity Controlled.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
As an AI product management technical architect, I leverage Microsoft Azure as our primary cloud platform to deploy and manage our machine learning models at scale, utilizing Azure Machine Learning for model training and Azure Kubernetes Service for robust deployment. Our solution addresses critical business challenges, including real-time data processing, inconsistent model performance, and the high operational costs associated with maintaining on-premises infrastructure. The scope of our Azure implementation spans our entire model lifecycle - from development and testing to production deployment and monitoring.
Pros
- Enterprise-grade security and compliance.
- Seamless integration with existing Microsoft products and services.
- Hybrid cloud capabilities allowing workloads to run both on-premises and in the cloud.
Cons
- User experience across Azure Portal interfaces lacks consistency and can be unintuitive.
- Pricing structure remains unnecessarily complex and difficult to predict.
- Documentation quality varies dramatically between services, with some newer offerings having significant gaps.
Return on Investment
- Accelerated time-to-market for new AI solutions, reducing deployment cycles drastically.
- Security features have strengthened our compliance posture.
- Positive ROI with a 30% overall infrastructure management overhead reduction and improved system reliability.
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Google Cloud AI
Other Software Used
Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services
Microsoft Azure advantages
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
More than half of our servers are currently running in Microsoft Azure. This migration to Microsoft Azure has been carried out in phases. At present, our network is hybrid. In the near future, we are aiming to move all other servers that are still running on-premises to Microsoft Azure as well. We sometimes encounter certain problems with legacy applications. These applications are occasionally not entirely ready for a move to Microsoft Azure. However, we notice that these vendors are also quickly trying to offer the possibility to make this feasible, or they are modifying the application and making it web-based.
Pros
- Microsoft Azure is highly scalable and flexible. You can quickly scale up or down additional resources and computing power.
- You have no longer upfront investments for hardware. You only pay for the use of your computing power, storage space, or services.
- The uptime that can be achieved and guaranteed is very important for our company. This includes the rapid maintenance for security updates that are mostly carried out by Microsoft.
- The wide range of capabilities of services that are possible in Microsoft Azure. You can practically put or create anything in Microsoft Azure.
Cons
- It requires knowledge of Microsoft Azure to set everything up properly once the environment becomes somewhat more complex.
- Microsoft Azure is a fairly dynamic environment that is still changing at a rapid pace. In most cases, these are expansions or improvements to Microsoft Azure's capabilities. However, this means that you must constantly keep your Microsoft Azure knowledge up to date.
- Microsoft Azure does not always offer functional support for migrating old legacy apps to the cloud. This is also related to the vendors of the legacy apps, but there is still potential room for a good solution.
Return on Investment
- The hardware that was previously required in the data center or on-premises, which is now in the Microsoft Azure cloud environment, was formerly fully managed by ourselves. Even if there was a hardware failure, a new investment was necessary. Nowadays, this is all handled by Microsoft, and here you limit many risks, repairs, and potential downtime.
- You can view, track, and forecast your consumption costs in real-time. Microsoft Azure also provides tips and suggestions for quick wins, helping you save extra costs that you might have overlooked.
- The high investments that are typically necessary during the replacement of a new cycle of hardware are not required now, making it financially easier to manage. This is especially beneficial because companies often work with allocated budgets. As a result, you have more budget available for improvements to your network and its quality.
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Windows Server
Other Software Used
Sophos Central Device Encryption, Microsoft Intune, Aruba Networks Wireless WAN
