The Azure cloud platform contains more than 200 products and cloud services. These products and services range from databases to virtual desktops, to quantum computing and machine learning applications. With such a vast product ecosystem it can be difficult to understand where Azure can fit into your IT infrastructure. To simplify things, Azure is designed to solve IT challenges, drive innovation and support businesses. One of the key benefits of using Azure is that it can save your business time and money so you can focus less on IT and more on building your business. We have compiled a list of 6 ways Azure helps you achieve this:
1. Improve integration and reduce expenses by switching to Azure for App Server Hosting
We have seen an increasing appetite for digital transformation from the professional services sector (Legal in particular), which has fuelled the surging demand for API management and Cloud services as a result. To remain competitive, businesses are reaching out to Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) to explore opportunities to take advantage of the latest invocation, integrating their key business applications such as eSignature and document management system to improve efficiency, governance and compliance. In addition, the CSP and Microsoft manage the hardware, software, update and patching service costs, effectively reducing the impact of having to deal with a complicated infrastructure, increasing demand on internal resource and an ever-growing total cost of ownership of having on-premises business applications.
2. Simplify Access Management with Azure Active Directory
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is a cloud-based identity and access management solution. It is an effective tool to increase security through enabling conditional access and offers six methods multifactor authentication deployment. One of the key ways that Azure AD can save time is through its single sign on features. Azure AD supports thousands of SaaS applications, allowing users to sign in to all their necessary applications with a single login both saving time and increasing security.
3. Work Anywhere with Azure Virtual Desktop
Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) is a virtual desktop solution that allows users to access Windows 10 desktops and applications from anywhere, on any device. Moving desktops to the Azure cloud saves money as it allows businesses to spend less on powerful desktops and laptops, as the computing power is no longer needed on the individual device. This also allows the possibility of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programme to be introduced, further reducing costs associated with hardware.
One of the other key cost benefits to deploying AVD is that session hosts can be scaled automatically to balance loads. This increases the user experience for those using more computing power, whilst optimising the cost of each virtual machine.
Using AVD also bring a host of other benefits including increased security, centralised management and increased flexibility of working location and device.
4. Manage and Reduce Cloud Spending with Azure Cost Management and Billing
Azure Cost Management and Billing is a product in the Azure suite that is designed to optimise cloud efficiency and decrease overall spending within your Azure subscription. Through Azure Cost Management and Billing this allows organisations to analyse their previous and current month’s Azure spending in detail to check for correct invoice amounts, estimates for upcoming months and whether different cost entities are within budget. In the Budget feature, organisations can set a budget and if the budget may be exceeded it will automatically shut down or change service tiers to ensure bills bill not be higher than expected. Finally, the Azure Advisor can give recommendations on how to decrease overall costs and optimise usage by changing product tiers or through optimisation of database usage.
5. Centralise Management with the Azure Portal
One of the key benefits of moving workloads to the Azure cloud, is it enables IT Admins the ability to manage all services from one portal. Within the Azure Portal it is possible to manage an organisations’ Azure subscription, including everything from simple web apps to complex cloud deployments. Having these centralised management capabilities greatly decreases the time involved in troubleshooting issues, deploying new products and services, and it supports the move to a hybrid workplace as IT Admins can manage the services from anywhere, on any device.
6. Secure Workloads with Azure Security Center
Azure was built from the ground up with security in mind. Microsoft provides multi-layered security with over 200 physical data centres, and a team of more than 3,500 cybersecurity experts working together to safeguard your business assets and data. Azure also includes threat detection and centralised workload protection within the Azure Security Center. Having this visibility of all threats decreases the risk of a costly cyberattack and secures both your network and your data.
The Azure ecosystem is packed full of functionality to keep your business ahead of the game whilst saving you time and money. If you want to find out more how Azure can benefit your business, contact us via info@bluecartechnologies.co.uk today.
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