Technological revolutions continue to occur, and modern organizations need to adapt to new ways of doing business in order to remain competitive. One of the primary changes in operational models that a company must consider when it comes to information management is whether to move to a cloud service provider. Microsoft Azure offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for companies to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives and leverage new technologies for business benefit. For example, some SMBs are not interested in collecting customer data and may not require large amounts of storage space. However, web applications may need a dynamic and secure test environment. The key to getting the most out of Azure is to identify the exact capabilities and services a business needs.
Integrated cloud services from Microsoft, one of the emerging cloud computing providers, have revolutionized business through the Azure platform. Used by many global companies, Microsoft Azure offers significant benefits to companies in terms of impressive scalability, cost-effectiveness, and security.
What is Microsoft Azure?
Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing service built to help businesses achieve their goals and overcome challenges. As a fully flexible IT solution, it provides the freedom to build, deploy and manage applications over a global network and on a consumption-based basis.
The vast majority of Fortune 500 companies use Azure resources for their cloud computing and infrastructure. As Microsoft continues to expand its market share across more industries, we take a look at the top 10 benefits Azure offers businesses around the world.
1. On-Demand Scalability. Microsoft Azure can easily adapt to the ever-changing conditions of your business. Its flexible capabilities can work on both manual and autoscaling based on application usage demands. Unlike traditional hosting, scaling in Azure is much easier because you can switch to different service plans depending on your needs. And because you continue to enjoy the same application performance regardless of user flow and without having to worry about underutilized on-premises solutions, you gain a competitive advantage right from the start.
2. Cost efficiency. Microsoft's pay-as-you-go model allows businesses to spend only as much as they use. Basically, Azure allows you to access more resources when you need them and have them as a series. This means you won't need to spend money on additional hardware and IT maintenance for high-volume operations. With Microsoft Azure, you can get a server configured to your exact specifications in less than 20 minutes, so you always have plenty of server capacity.
3. Data backup and disaster recovery. With more than 50 world-class compliance certifications and a 99-year retention period, Azure can protect your data like no other cloud computing platform. SQL running in Azure provides one-click backup support for databases and virtual machines. And in the event of a service outage or data loss , Microsoft Azure can recover your data up to 66% faster than an on-premises IT solution.
4. Tailor-made industry applications. High-risk industries such as healthcare, financial services, and government often need a specific set of applications with unique compliance and security features. With Microsoft Azure, you can tackle individual challenges, from implementing remote access and modernizing your financial systems to optimizing customer relationships and improving engagement.
5. Advanced IT infrastructure. Through IaaS and PaaS, businesses can outsource their IT infrastructure and build web applications without having to spend money on infrastructure maintenance. You can partner with a Microsoft Cloud service provider to leverage IaaS and PaaS and build custom enterprise applications on Azure to grow your business faster .
6. Fast deployment. Whether companies are working privately or using public cloud services, they can quickly deploy applications in the cloud. Hybrid deployment is also available for businesses that want to take advantage of both cloud and on-premises solutions.
7. Improved insights. Azure facilitates access to key data insights through SQL and NoSQL data services and built-in support. It also integrates with Excel and adds more business intelligence features as demand grows. This means you can improve decision-making processes and gain valuable insight into what opportunities are available.
8. Offers secure identity and access management (IAM). With Azure Active Directory and its IAM capabilities, you can significantly reduce the risk of hacking. Identity and Access Management solutions protect your resources and apps with additional features like Multi-Factor Authentication, Application Proxy, and Conditional Access policies. IAM also eliminates downtime for your IT staff to create accounts and passwords across SaaS applications. Userscan only sign in and access data or applications using their corporate credentials.
9. Integration with other tools. Most businesses depend on other tools, such as Microsoft 365 or Office 365. Investing in a comprehensive cloud platform like Azure allows you to seamlessly integrate all your other Microsoft tools and on-premises products into a single integrated environment.
10. Automatic updates. Updates are automated and real-time, so your infrastructure and application are always ready. You can manage updates for Windows and Linux hardware in both on-premises and cloud environments, assess their status, and also manage process updates for your servers.
