Why Azure Cloud Virtual Machines just is.
March 25, 2022
Why Azure Cloud Virtual Machines just is.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Azure Virtual Machines
We use Azure Virtual Machines to mainly manage our end-user web platform utilizing its web app plans, we also sit VM servers behind this that contain the data for these web services along with some on-prem servers, we have a VPN direct to Azure and some VPNs direct to clients from our Azure services.
- When demand is high, we scale the service out, eg During a Football Match.
- When a football match is over and the throughput of data from OPTA drops we save by the service scaling back in.
- Our App Service Plans along with the Clean C# code are lightening fast giving a good customer experience.
- When producing the TV Guide information and a program overruns its scheduled time, a client can instantly be updated to the new programming schedule as our change is instant and its in the right place for all the clients to download and adjust their television guides appropriately to send out to the public giving a 24x7 uptime service that is precise and accurate and resilient to outages due to failover zones around the world.
- Support on VMs doing strange things around NETUSE as a command resulted in constantly being sent over to INDIA where personally I found a real Language Barrier and even after specifically expressing a support service in the UK or the US it did keep finding its way back to a company called MINDTREE, the language barrier was such that after 4 or 5 meetings I was been asked the same questions that I was asked in the initial day 1 meeting and round and round it went, this issue was never resolved, we had to write code and utilize a different workaround to get over having to use the NETUSE command which previous to a VM running Windows server 2019 Datacentre worked fine.
- Azure Pricing could be more competitive to AWS.
- Having the ability to control app service plans which at the minute are just something that exists and we are not able to really see what they are doing which becomes an issue when you want to try and bug fix an issue.
- We actually saved £76,000 by utilising scaling services correctly from 24 hour uptime servers
- WE saved £50,000 by Engaging NORDCLOUD and adding there professional discount with MICROSFT by going under there umbrella and they take over the support services to Microsoft.
- Overall on a personal level I believe Cloud recourses are more expensive than Physical kits and the depreciation plan of physical kit really doesn't happen over 3 years, in reality, people still own kits at 20 years, I'm not saying that is good practice to keep the kit for 20 years but the cost model doesn't really work against what really happens in the world, so Cloud services are something that has pro's and cons and it really has to be what your needing and how your company processes work when trying to gain new kit, it can be far easier to commission a new virtual machine in Azure than it can be to get purchasing to investigate raise orders and actually buy the kit you require, once the process is set up for the Azure purchases the route is already in place and happens much quicker, sometimes, it's even been retrospective as its needed and been provisioned, resolving a priority 1 issue and then decommissioned after the event. you would have to look at what your own personal situation is on this and if this is a benefit or not.
We also use AWS Cloud Services, personally, I think AWS is a little more expensive than Azure Virtual Machines but its swings and roundabouts mostly.
I prefer the interfaces in Azure Virtual Machines as I feel I'm closer to the Machine than with AWS and my roots are from a hands-on background old school, AWS may be the one of choice for younger people.
I prefer the interfaces in Azure Virtual Machines as I feel I'm closer to the Machine than with AWS and my roots are from a hands-on background old school, AWS may be the one of choice for younger people.
Do you think Azure Virtual Machines delivers good value for the price?
No
Are you happy with Azure Virtual Machines's feature set?
Yes
Did Azure Virtual Machines live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Azure Virtual Machines go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Azure Virtual Machines again?
Yes