Microsoft Azure Review
Microsoft Azure is a favorite among cloud users, owning 25% of the total cloud market share worldwide. Azure’s ease of integration and the quality of its hybrid and security solutions are impressive. However, you may get stuck with only Microsoft products in vendor lock-in. We explain more in this Microsoft Azure review.
Key Takeaways: What Is Microsoft Azure & Is It Good to Use?
- Microsoft Azure is a cloud platform owned by Microsoft. It offers Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS).
- Microsoft Azure is usually the ideal cloud service provider when integrating with businesses’ existing Microsoft ecosystems.
- Azure offers new signups a $200 credit and 12 months of free usage on some services. It also has services that are always free.
Use Microsoft Azure for…
- Web and Mobile App Development: This is perhaps the most popular use case. Microsoft Azure offers tools like Visual Studio Code, App Configuration, Web App Service and more for app development.
- Hosting and Development Services: Besides development tools, it offers various hosting and deployment services, including Virtual Machines, Azure Kubernetes Services, among others.
- Data Analytics and Big Data: Azure offers a vast number of data analytics tools, including Azure Stream Analytics for data stream processing and Azure Data Lake Storage for data warehousing.
- Storage and Databases: On Azure, you get access to object-, block- and file-storage via Azure Blob Storage, Azure Disk Storage and Azure Files. You also get to use relational and non-relational databases, such as Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for MySQL, and Azure SQL Database.
Facts & Expert Analysis About Microsoft Azure:
- Extensive global reach: With more than 300 data centers worldwide, Microsoft Azure has a global reach comparable to that of Amazon Web Services (AWS). This contributes to the reliability of Azure’s services, as it promotes users’ proximity to those services, enhancing low-latency traffic.
- Second-largest cloud provider: Microsoft Azure is the second-largest cloud service provider in the world, with a market share of 25% — almost double that of the last quarter of 2017.1
- Service range: Microsoft Azure offers a vast range of services, and though it doesn’t have as many services as AWS, it’s not unusual to find people opting for Azure’s security tools over alternatives on other cloud platforms.
With Azure being a Microsoft service, it is no surprise that it integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products. Beyond that, Azure has some of the best hybrid cloud solutions of any cloud service provider. In this Microsoft Azure review, we discuss its features, pricing, security, alternatives, performance and more.
The most commonly used Azure cloud product is Microsoft 365, which is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. In addition to SaaS, Azure has offerings through the other two cloud delivery models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Keep reading for our full evaluation of Microsoft Azure to learn why it’s one of the most popular cloud computing platforms in the world.
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09/18/2024 Facts checked
This Azure review was rewritten with up-to-date information about features, pricing and more.
What Is Microsoft Azure & Who Is It For?
Microsoft Azure is a Microsoft-owned cloud service provider. It offers IaaS services, such as Virtual Machines, and it also has PaaS and SaaS products, such as serverless computing and Microsoft 365, respectively.
Azure is suitable for various markets, whether personal or enterprise. It is particularly suited for people whose existing infrastructure is predominantly Microsoft products. However, anyone looking for reliable cloud service from one of the top two cloud service providers would find it suitable.
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- Release date: February 1, 2010
- Developer: Microsoft
- Platforms: Cloud
- Operating systems: Supports Windows and the most common Linux distributions
- Notable features: Hybrid cloud computing, comprehensive services suite, high availability, extensive global reach
- Pricing: Pricing is generally pay-as-you-go
The Cloudwards Expert Opinion: Azure
The Cloudwards Expert Opinion: Azure
Microsoft Azure is a high flier in the cloud provider industry, which is made evident by the fact that it has the second largest market share even though it launched almost four years after Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Of the many Azure services, Azure DevOps is my favorite. I like how it assimilates various DevOps tools in one place, which provides a break from the common flow of combining various tools from different platforms. I also like how well Azure integrates with Github, which is one example of Azure integrating seamlessly with the Microsoft ecosystem.
I do not have an issue with Azure’s potential vendor lock-in if the tools offered work smoothly. However, I don’t recommend getting stuck with just one vendor, as it could delay innovative improvements to your cloud architecture. Overall, Azure is excellent, but if there were one element I’d want to improve, it’s the user interface. Though generally simple, it can get too busy in some areas.
Microsoft Azure Pros & Cons
Features: What Can Microsoft Azure Do?
Microsoft Azure can do many jobs and wear many hats, from offering virtual compute to providing virtual storage, networking, analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, serverless computing, e-commerce, DevOps, security and hybrid cloud like Azure Stack. Here’s an assessment of some of Azure’s most popular features.
Compute
Azure offers various compute services, with Virtual Machines being the foremost fundamental compute service. Other compute services, such as Azure App Service, Azure Quantum and Static Web Apps, are specialized compute services built on Virtual Machines.
So, what can you do with Azure Virtual Machines? You can do pretty much anything you’d do with a computer, from deploying web applications and websites to testing applications, implementing machine learning and using databases.
Storage & Database
Azure has an extensive range of storage services, such as Azure Blob Storage, Azure Files and Azure Disk Storage, which are object, file and block storage, respectively. You also get various databases on Azure, including Azure Database for MySQL, Azure Cache for Redis and Azure SQL, among many others.
Networking
Azure’s Virtual Network (also called V-Net) is its primary networking service. It allows private networks to be created in Azure, ensuring controlled group access to resources. In addition to Virtual Network, Azure offers Azure NAT Gateway, Azure ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway and more.
they’re not readily accessible to anyone else.
Serverless Computing & Container Technologies
Among its serverless solutions, Azure offers Azure Functions for event-driven code execution, and Azure Cosmos DB and Azure SQL Database Serverless for serverless databases. Azure Container Apps can be used to deploy applications on serverless containers, and Azure Kubernetes Service is for managed container orchestration.
Machine Learning & AI
Though it doesn’t offer as many services in this category as AWS, Azure offers various AI and machine learning solutions. From speech processing solutions — like speech to text, text to speech and speech translation — to Azure AI Content Safety, AI Search and Health Bot, there’s an AI or machine learning service for multiple needs.
Microsoft Azure Pricing: How Much Does Azure Cost?
Microsoft Azure pricing is generally pay-as-you-go, which allows you to pay for only what you use. That said, some services are free for a certain period, and some are always free. The cost of Azure varies depending on the service you’re using. However, all in all, Azure is generally inexpensive.
User-Friendliness & Hands-on Testing
You can access Azure from the web through the Azure Portal or a REST API. You may also use Azure SDK (software development kit) or use Azure CLI or Powershell from your computer.
That said, the Azure Portal user interface is simple but not always easy to navigate. The design is straightforward, but sometimes too many options are crammed into the view, making it hard to read through and use the features — especially as a beginner.
Security: Is Microsoft Azure Safe?
Microsoft Azure is safe; like many top companies, it invests heavily in security since it’s a prime target for malicious actors. Azure uses a multi-layered approach for its infrastructure, with both physical building security and cybersecurity. It complies with security standards and is certified accordingly, and has dedicated security teams for an even more robust security approach.
Of course, no security system is completely immune from cyberattacks, so Azure has experienced some breaches. That said, its response to and transparency about those breaches are often reassuring to customers.
Microsoft Azure Security Features
Azure has a vast range of security features across various categories, including application and network security, compliance, identity and access management, and data security. It also offers AI- and machine-learning-based security services for vulnerability assessment and intelligent threat detection.
but also protects applications only from web attacks.
Azure Application Gateway works as a managed load-balancing, web application firewall, sitting in front of your web app managing traffic. It falls into the category of application and network security alongside services like Azure DDoS Protection, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Web Application Firewall and Azure Firewall.
For compliance, Azure Dedicated HSM helps you manage security modules, and Microsoft Azure Attestation enables audits of platform security posture.
service formerly known as Azure Active Directory.
When it comes to identity and access management, Microsoft Entra ID is the most popular Azure solution. For data security, Azure offers Azure Information Protection, Key Vault and Azure Confidential Ledger. Microsoft Sentinel is a vulnerability assessment tool, while Microsoft Copilot for Security is an intelligent threat detection service.
Though Azure has a fair number of security features, AWS has far more security tools. However, whenever a Microsoft ecosystem is involved, Azure offers better security features.
Server Network
Azure server networks are connected through subnets and network security groups when in the same virtual network. Connectivity between such servers is seamless. For servers in different virtual networks, you can connect with virtual network peering, which offers low latency and high availability.
Other elements of the Azure server network — like Load Balancer, Application Gateway and VPN Gateway — offer performance comparable to that of the top cloud service providers. Overall, Azure’s server network is highly available and has low latency.
Azure Virtual Machines runs on physical servers in data centers within availability zones or regions. However, some regions do not have availability zones in Azure, so the data centers are directly within those regions. Azure regions that do have availability zones have three each, and the data centers exist in the zones instead of the regions.
Though physically isolated, Azure’s availability zones are redundantly connected, with low latency. You can expect high throughput and high availability throughout the system. Azure regions are available on all continents except Antarctica, highlighting the platform’s global coverage.
Cloud Performance
We ran a CPU benchmark test on a 2GiB Ubuntu 22.04 virtual machine with 1 vCPU; the test showed an average latency of around 1.14-1.15 ms. The same test on a similar AWS machine in the same region produced an average latency of 1.11 ms.
The Azure server had faster buffered disk reads (around 40-50 MB/sec), but both servers had comparable cached reads — approximately 9200 MB/sec. Though their upload speeds fell within the same range, the Azure server was always slightly faster. However, the AWS server download speed was approximately three times faster throughout the test.
On average, Azure offers remarkable cloud performance thanks to factors like extensive global coverage through more than 300 data centers, scalability and high-speed networking. That aside, Azure routinely optimizes its underlying infrastructure with standard security solutions, high-performance computing and network-optimization features like edge computing and CDN.
For the most part, you should have a smooth experience using Azure. However, factors like your workload size, internet connectivity and resource selection may affect the performance. When working on Azure, ensure you provision resources that can handle your workload and use high-speed internet.
Azure Customer Support
Azure offers four customer support plans: Basic, Developer, Standard and Professional Direct. The support pricing is relatively inexpensive compared to AWS and Google Cloud (GCP).
- Basic support is free and comes with Azure Advisor, health status notifications, billing and subscription support.
- Developer costs $29 per month and comes with Basic support, plus third-party software, architecture and email support during business hours.
- Standard costs $100 per month and includes Developer support plus 24/7 access to email and phone support, and faster response times for critical issues.
- Professional Direct costs $1,000 per month and offers the full support package and the fastest response times.
The Verdict: Is Microsoft Azure Worth It?
Microsoft Azure is generally worth it, but its worthiness depends on your use case. For integration with an existing Microsoft ecosystem, hybrid cloud needs, security, scalability and global coverage, Microsoft excels. However, you may become too dependent on Microsoft products in the long run.
For related guides, check out our article on what is Windows 365 Cloud PC.
Have you ever used Azure? Which service impressed you the most? Do you prefer one of its competitors? In terms of performance, do you think Azure is closer to AWS or GCP? Share your thoughts with us in the comments. As always, thank you for reading.
FAQ: Microsoft Azure Cloud Computing
Microsoft Azure is one of the best cloud computing platforms, particularly for hybrid cloud and Microsoft products.
Yes, it is worth learning Microsoft Azure. Being the second most dominant cloud service provider in the world, learning Microsoft Azure is absolutely relevant.
The main pros of Microsoft Azure are its easy integration with Microsoft services and extensive global coverage. The main con is the high potential for vendor lock-in.
Microsoft Azure exams are not hard, but it all depends on your preparation. For the most part, the difficulty is comparable to their AWS equivalents.
