Increasingly, the use of Cloud Computing is gaining ground in the business sector, especially since the pandemic broke into our lives and most organizations had to start digitally transforming their operations, using the power of the cloud to be more effective, efficient and competitive .

But, as we know, this is an area in which many doubts still arise ; Azure, IaaS, Pass, SaaS, virtual machines, back up, etc. The cloud encompasses many services and concepts that can be beneficial for your business but, due to doubts or ignorance of these, you do not know if you need it or how they can help you.

Therefore, here we are. To tell you everything you need to know about Cloud Computing, specifically about Azure, a platform made up of more than 200 cloud products and services designed to help you bring to life new solutions that solve today’s difficulties and create the future.

With Azure you can store information and create, manage and deploy applications in the cloud . In addition to using its integrated multiplied security controls and the threat information it gives you to identify those that are fast evolving and thus protect you.

Who uses Azure and what for?

Microsoft Azure IOThas massive accessibility and scalability , so it can be used by companies and businesses of all sizes and industries. Come on, you can enjoy all the benefits offered by both micro and SMEs as well as Fortune 500 companies.

What are they using it for and how is it helping businesses grow?

Well, because in addition to the wide selection of innovative and business-critical services that it offers, there are many other important reasons that make this platform a great attraction for organizations. Among which we highlight the following:

Scalable and accessible: Users can add new services, increase their storage capacities, and create new applications as they go, without having to worry about whether they have the infrastructure to support any change.
Cost reduction: This platform is pay-per-use, so it allows you to optimize the contracted services and pay only for what you are going to use.
Secure storage and backup (backup copies) in the cloud : Azure has a data storage system in the cloud that guarantees the privacy and integrity of the information . It is ideal for saving information and having backup copies outside the company.
Allows hybrid work: With Azure your team can work together in a local environment and in the cloud, facilitating the integration of both environments for more effective and secure work.
As we see, this platform was born to help all companies since this type of computing power would be incredibly difficult and quite expensive to replicate internally, but the Azure on-demand license model gives you access to cutting-edge technology and resources. that you probably couldn’t otherwise have. But neither you nor any other company.

Thanks to the intelligent tools it provides, your organization can digitally transform its operations and processes, thus being more productive and efficient.

The scalability that we have mentioned that it offers means that your company can react quickly to changes in demand or circumstances.

In addition, the analytical and database capacity of this platform helps you obtain valuable and actionable data, allowing you to make better and more informed decisions to move forward on the right path.

Services included in Microsoft Azure

Azure offers all three service models  IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS  so depending on the services you choose, you can take advantage of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS on the Microsoft cloud platform.

We go back to the beginning, we know that these concepts can be complicated. Therefore, together with the definition, we are going to explain what the most used services are in each of these models to help you use them in your business.

IaaS
IaaS is infrastructure as a service. Companies contract the hardware infrastructure to a third party in exchange for a fee or rent.

Some of the most outstanding services in this service model are:

Virtual machines: A virtual machine is nothing more than software capable of loading another operating system inside it, making it believe that it is a real PC. Azure allows you to create both Linux and Windows virtual machines (VMs). This service allows thousands of virtual machine instances to be scaled in just a few minutes.
Back up : This is the backup solution for all company resources. It stands out for its simplicity, allowing you to make a backup with just one click.
Azure SQL: Cloud database service that allows you to work with business databases in an outsourced manner.
Windows Virtual Desktop: It is a system based on Azure to virtualize your Windows operating systems, providing desktops and applications in the cloud with which telework can be implemented in organizations quickly and easily.
PaaS
PaaS means offering platforms as a service. Applications such as databases, middleware, development tools, business intelligence services, etc. can be launched on these platforms. Within the Pass service we find:

App Service : Cloud platform to create, implement and scale applications working with different environments such as Java, .Net, Python.

Azure Kubernetes Service – This Azure service allows you to deploy and manage containers with a fully managed Kubernetes service.
Kubernetes is a portable and extensible open source platform for managing workloads and services.

SaaS
This software-as-infrastructure model hosts the company’s software, as well as its data, on external servers, and pays a fee for its use. Any employee of a company will be able to access the company’s applications from anywhere without having to install them on a local computer. When we talk about software in the cloud we are talking about SaaS.

In SaaS, Azure has:

Azure IoT Hub : Consists of connecting all smart devices  Microsoft Azure IoT ( Internet of Things ) enabling bidirectional communication between them and Azure. With IoT Hub you have a secure back end* that works in the cloud through which any device can connect.

Back end*: Within web development, the backend is in charge of all the necessary processes for the web to work correctly.

Azure DevOps : Tools that allow a company to be provided with the necessary resources to adapt this philosophy of collaborative work in the company.

At Dynamics Square we have the Microsoft Gold Partner certification, so if after reading this post everything we think you need to know about Azure and you want to have it in your organization has become clearer to you, we are here to help you! Call us at +442071932502 or write to us at [email protected] .