Item: Azure Virtual Machines
Rating: 7
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Azure Virtual Machines is our first choice when we want to host virtualized Windows servers in the cloud. No other hosting provider provides the excellent level of integration that Microsoft does in their Azure hosting environment. Whether we need to spin up a server for a short period of time, or keep a production critical instance running with minimal failure, we only use Azure Virtual Machines when that server requires Microsoft Windows.

Pros and Cons

Security guidance
Integrations with other Azure services
Cost management

Improve naming and pricing tiers of VM sizes
Simplify the user interface
Allow configuration mixing and matching rather than VM sizes

Return on Investment

Reduced costs when migrating legacy machines to the cloud
Reduced costs when utilizing Azure credits or Windows licenses from other Microsoft licensing agreements (like Visual Studio subscriptions)
Reduced overheads through automated backup and monitoring

Alternatives Considered

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Linode

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure's Compute supports Windows, but is really geared towards Linux. You can install Windows on some Linode servers, but again, Linode is geared towards Linux. AWS does everything but is complex and can have high costs.

If you want to host Windows servers in the cloud, nothing beats Azure. From licensing to management, Microsoft Azure provides the easiest way to deploy and manage Windows Servers in the cloud, especially if you utilize other Microsoft services like Microsoft 365 an Visual Studio subscriptions.

Key Insights

Do you think Azure Virtual Machines delivers good value for the price?

Yes

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

Other Software Used

Linode, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Microsoft 365

Likelihood to Recommend

If you want to host a dedicated Windows server on the cloud, and especially if you want to integrate it with your on premises Active Directory, Azure Virtual Machines should be your first choice. Obviously running Linux on Azure works very well too, but given Azure's pricing is not the cheapest, there are other providers out there that have a better cost-benefit ratio for Linux. That said, hosting Windows on Azure can be affordable (especially when compared to other providers) if you plan your licensing, topology, and application architecture correctly.

There is only one choice for hosting Windows servers in the cloud

Overall Satisfaction with Azure Virtual Machines