What Is Azure?
Azure is a cloud computing platform offered by Microsoft. It has over 200 products and services designed for your business needs.
Launched in 2010, Azure is now the second-largest cloud platform, just behind Amazon Web Services (AWS). You can use Azure to meet all your security and storage needs. It is flexible to use, cost-efficient, and comes with built-in support features.
In this article, we will talk about the three pillars of Azure: Compute, Storage, and Networking. We will also list the top features of Azure and how they can benefit your business. So What is Azure:
What is Azure – Microsoft Services
1. Compute Services
Azure Compute provides services to host and run your cloud-based applications. These services are available on-demand, and can be set up in a matter of minutes. Plus, you pay only for the specific services you use.
- Virtual Machines (VMs): These are virtualized versions of physical computers. They eliminate the need to buy any physical hardware.
- Service Fabric: Simplifies the process of developing a microservice.
- Cloud Services: Let you create scalable apps within the cloud while Azure takes care of load balancing, health monitoring, and provisioning.
- Functions: This helps you create apps in any programming language. What’s better, you don’t have to worry about any hardware needs.
2. Storage Services
Azure’s storage services offer secure and scalable cloud storage for your data. You can store small to large packages of data, as per your needs.
- File Storage: This allows you to move or share files in the cloud using a standard protocol.
- Blob Storage: Blob, or Binary Large Object, includes unstructured data like text, images, audio, or videos. Blob Storage is optimized to store a massive amount of blobs.
- Disk Storage: This is a virtual hard disk used to store and access data.
- Queue Storage: This stores a large number of messages, and prevents lost or unprocessed messages.
3. Networking Services
Azure networking services allow you to connect multiple resources via the internet. That way, you can create and manage a secure network infrastructure in the cloud.
- Virtual Network: This allows different Azure services to communicate with one another securely.
- Content Delivery Network (CDN): Helps quickly transfer content to users around the globe.
- Express Route: Lets you connect your current network to Microsoft cloud over a private connection.
- Traffic Manager: A load balancing feature, it helps distribute traffic optimally.
What is Azure – Features and Benefits
- Disaster recovery: Azure offers a safe and secure platform for data storage since your data is not stored on any single physical computer. It also offers an end-to-end backup solution without any lag in services or functionality.
- Automated solutions: Azure automates all your repetitive, time-consuming, and error-prone tasks. This boosts your efficiency, reduces errors, and lowers your operational costs.
- Built-In support: Azure is equipped with built-in support. This helps create, test, launch, and analyze new apps. Plus, it offers quick solutions to problems.
- Security: Azure offers multi-layered security features with regular updates. These reduce the risks of cyberattacks and data theft that businesses are constantly worried about.
- Enhanced flexibility: Azure provides several levels of flexibility, in terms of service levels, storage locations, and coding languages. Together, these can help scale up your business and adapt to ever-changing market demands.
- Cost-efficiency: Azure eliminates the need for physical hardware for your needs. Furthermore, the pay-as-you-go model enables you to pay only for what you use and when you use it.
What is Azure – The Bottom Line
With its top services and features, Azure can be an ideal platform for your business. It offers storage, networking, and computing services to improve overall efficiency and lower costs. Plus, it eliminated the need to invest in physical hardware.
With Azure, you also have access to automated solutions, built-in support, multi-layered security, and end-to-end backup and disaster recovery features. What’s more, Azure is free to try.
What is Azure – Additional Resources
- Azure Virtual Machines – Create Linux and Windows virtual machines (VMs) in seconds and reduce costs.
- Azure SQL – Migrate, modernize, and innovate on the modern SQL family of cloud databases
- Azure Cognitive Services – Add cognitive capabilities to apps with APIs and AI services
- Azure Quantum – Jump in and explore a diverse selection of today’s quantum hardware, software, and solutions