Use of Azure in a non-technology company
June 25, 2014

Use of Azure in a non-technology company

Patrick Wirtz | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Windows Azure

Windows Azure is a product that helps us quickly and easily deploy various products. Anything from IaaS to SaaS to PaaS products are all used and Azure is always in the mix as it provides a secure and effective way of provisioning the necessary technology. Whenever we think of a new project we think of Azure in the realm of possibilities.

Pros

  • Security - As a company we are being constantly bombarded from foreign targets trying to compromise our systems. Putting Azure in place allows for us to put another layer between us and the 'bad guys'.
  • Offloading - Being able to offload our workload from our Internet connections at the main office allows for us to not worry about the bandwidth constraints but rather the strategic use of whatever project is being deployed.
  • Development - Our developers use Azure to do test/dev because of the ease of use as well as the sandboxing experience it provides.

Cons

  • Portal - There are times where the portal isn't as intuitive as one might expect, have a searchable area for what you are looking for would be helpful.
  • Licensing - Azure has a lot of value but by comparison to other Microsoft products it is still in its infancy and as such its cost should be reflective as such.
  • The biggest advantage Azure has had for us is in the procurement pipeline, we no longer have to worry about ordering dedicated servers for most of our projects as it's just a matter of having someone who holds the right keys.
We have used Amazon Web Services and while it's a nice start and has more granularity when it comes to permissions than Azure the overall Azure stack has more development integrations and that is a huge win for us.
It's most due to the development tools that are on hand. Microsoft's stack allows for a development tool, libraries, etc. These additions are a game changer by comparison to any of its competitors. Someday the competitors may get there but there is nothing on the horizon that says they will be able to get there.
Azure is suited to many different circumstances from IaaS to PaaS to SaaS. This is because of the robust development ecosystem that Microsoft has built in comparison to its competitors.

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