Originally launched in 2010, Microsoft Azure has quickly grown into one of the dominant cloud computing services on the planet. Offering SaaS, PaaS, IaaS and more, it’s the perfect opportunity for businesses that want to fully embrace the cloud to do so in the most efficient way possible.
Which, of course, demands the question – what if you DON’T want to fully embrace the cloud? At least, not right now? Does Azure still have a place alongside 0365 and other solutions?
The good news is that it absolutely is possible to incorporate Microsoft Azure with your existing, in-house IT infrastructure. You’ll just have to keep a few key things in mind to make sure you unlock all the right benefits along the way.
Getting the Most Out of Azure
In terms of your return on investment, one of the most important things to understand involves which applications work best for Azure to begin with. Azure itself is billed as a platform for quickly building, deploying and scaling web apps and APIs “on your own terms.” Generally speaking, the apps that work best with Azure are those that need enterprise-grade performance, must meet rigid security and compliance requirements, and that work with .NET, .NET Core, Node.js, Java, Python or PHP.
Another important element that will help you get the most out of your Azure deployment comes down to the idea of fit versus cost. Again, Microsoft Azure is nothing if not malleable – it supports many different programming languages, tools and frameworks for you to choose from depending on your needs. By understanding exactly what you expect to get out of Azure and what you need it to help you accomplish, you can work your way backwards to the right-sized deployment that will help make success a foregone conclusion.
Breaking Down the Extensive Possibilities in the Azure Console
In terms of what it is capable to unlock via the Azure Console, you certainly have a plethora of options to choose from. Just a few include:
- Infrastructure as a service offerings that allow users to launch Microsoft Windows and Linux virtual machines.
- Platform as a service environments that allow users to easily publish and manage websites.
- Identity services like Azure Active Directory, which is used to enable single sign-on, among other tasks.
- Mobile services like HockeyApp that can be used to develop, distribute and even test mobile apps.
- Storage services that are used for storing and accessing data via the cloud using REST and SDK APIs.
- A global content delivery network for videos, applications, images and other types of static files.
- Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, which enables predictive analytics so that you can get the most from your data.
- The Azure Internet of Things Hub that lets you connect, monitor and manage all of the IoT assets across your enterprise.
- And many, many others.
If nothing else, all of this also serves as a helpful reminder of the importance of having the right IT support provider by your side during this process. A partner can better understand what you’re trying to do, all in a way that makes it more efficient and more cost effective to do just that via Azure.
HI-TEX Solutions: Your Partner in Innovative IT Solutions
At HI-TEX Solutions, we understand that Microsoft Azure is nothing if not malleable – meaning it can be a lot of different things for a lot of different organizations. Because of that, it’s important to always start not with the technology itself, but WHY you want to incorporate Azure into your existing IT infrastructure. Once you understand exactly what objectives you’re trying to accomplish, you can put the plan in place necessary to do precisely that. This, coupled with the help of our Microsoft Certified System Administrators and Microsoft Certified System Engineers that are in-house right here in Texas, will make this cloud integrator process more efficient than you could have ever thought possible.
So if you’d like to find out more information about incorporating Microsoft Azure with your existing IT infrastructure, or if you’d just like to learn more about the major benefits that a managed IT services and Microsoft Certified Partner can bring to your next big cloud transformation, please don’t delay – contact HI-TEX Solutions today.
