Key Advantages of Azure

Azure is one of the world’s fastest-growing large cloud platforms offering secure data storage and having the most extensive list of compliance certifications for each cloud service provider. Microsoft Azure is an ever-growing platform with a wide range of integrated cloud services such as analytics, computing, database, mobile, networking, storage and web.

Azure is constantly evolving and is currently the largest cloud resource on the market being actively followed by Amazon and Google.

Azure Data Centers

With more than 210 data centers in 47 regions around the world, Microsoft global network of managed data centers ensures seamless service, high reliability and accessibility of services.

When using Azure services, you can use any of its data centers, with a minimum of 3 or 4 data centers for a location which are completely independent of each other. Data security is the priority advantage that Microsoft seeks to provide to its customers.

Microsoft data centers are fully automated. The latest trend that Microsoft is experimenting with is data centers in the ocean – the containers / capsules are on the sea/oceanbed which solves the issue of cooling.

Why Cloud Solution?

Data protection:

• Location accessible from anywhere
• Multiple copies of your data
• Hack and virus-proof

Scalability:

• The right resource for your company’s needs
• With just a few clicks you get more resources, if you need extra performance
• Fast and efficient system at all times

Pay-as-you-use:

• Pricing up to a minute
• All the necessary IT infrastructure and software included in the license fee
• Less or no IT staff costs
• No upgrade and peripheral software costs
• Service regardless of staff competence

On-Premise vs Cloud

As you can see from the picture – with On-premise installations a customer takes care of almost everything – server location and cooling, electricity and power, networking – access to the server, storages for the data, operating system, etc.

On the right-hand side of the picture with Azure, the Microsoft data center takes care of servers, virtualization, storages, networking, electricity, and cooling.

Customers using Azure IaaS capabilities benefit from the flexibility, reliability and scale of the platform. It covers all key compliance requirements.

What does Microsoft take care of?

Infrastructure maintenance:

• Security and isolation – no viruses or data hacking
• Operating systems and virtualization
• Servers, storages and networking
• Electricity, cooling, maintenance

Application support:

• 24/7 monitoring and process automation
• Diagnosis, updates, security patches
• Environment reservation and replication
• Environment provisioning and management
• Data management, recovery after resource failure

Data Security

Your data is secure – the access to the architecture is physically limited and your data cannot be infected by viruses or attacked by hackers, it cannot be destroyed because it is repeatedly replicated and protected in the Microsoft architecture.

On a monthly basis, Microsoft guarantees that for some reason (usually updates) you may not be able to access your server in a mere 43 minutes (99.95% monthly SLA on virtual servers). Outside this time – access to your server will be available.

Pay-as-you-use

The consumption of services is metered with an accuracy of 1 minute – if your server has worked for 10 hours today, you pay for 10 hours. If you do not want the server to work the next day – you do not pay.

There are two ways of pricing – for using the service and for using the storage.

Advantages of Azure

• Easy to configure and add additional resource
• Pay-as-you-use
• High efficiency for all solutions
• High protection of data: Zone Redundancy, Geo Redundancy
• Continuous improvement and new services
• Automation

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