Azure Functions is used to host a Python script that requires about five minutes of processing. I am only using Azure Functions for Python scripts and am not hosting multiple languages, so I do not have experience with that flexibility.
Faced timeouts and complexity but have automated Python data processing in the cloud
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Azure Functions is a cloud PaaS product similar to Lambda functions. The most valuable feature of Azure Functions is that it is the only one available to us on Azure, which is why I use it. It is always linked to a consumption plan, so I have to choose a suitable one for the workload, making it more complicated than Lambda functions in AWS.
I have linked Azure Functions with Data Factory for some processing tasks that I could not do directly in Data Factory, needing to retrieve files from the Storage Account.
What needs improvement?
I have not integrated Azure Functions with any third-party solutions outside of the Azure environment.
I have not integrated CI/CD with Azure Functions.
Microsoft can improve Azure Functions by adding durable functions, as the current setup times out after thirty minutes, which is quite irritating. There is either something as small as a Function App or something as big as a virtual machine, with nothing in between.
I have not thought about any additional features for Azure Functions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Function Apps from Azure for approximately three months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Azure Functions at four out of ten. Stability needs to be better.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have not tested the scalability functionality of Azure Functions.
How are customer service and support?
I have not contacted technical support from Microsoft, so I would not be able to rate them. I am directly working with Microsoft for the purchase process of the product.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In general usability, AWS is a lot easier to use than Azure, as there is a lot of functionality and information that is not very easy to access in Azure. Coming from AWS, I see that Microsoft's product is quite finicky and requires diving deep into user forums, while AWS is a lot more intuitive and simpler to get off the ground.
How was the initial setup?
Azure Functions has a quite easy and straightforward initial setup.
What other advice do I have?
Elastic Pool is basically a SQL server that can host multiple SQL databases, not Azure Elastic SAN or just Elastic.
Elastic Pool has nothing to do with the ELK stack.
A Storage Account is called the file storage, and it is like an S3 from Azure.
The file storage is indeed called a Storage Account.
I am not actively working on Active Directory or any solutions like App Logic from Azure.
I am not using ML Studio or Data Box.
For pricing, I would say it is also a bit more expensive than normal, and I would rate it four as well. I would give this review an overall rating of four out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
