We will likely use Microsoft Azure Key Vault for secure key management.
System Administrator at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Straightforward documentation, secure, and reasonably priced
Pros and Cons
- "It is a managed service in Azure, you do not have to worry about security other than the access, and the vaults themselves are inherently secure."
- "I can see that other people are doing the infrastructure as code, they are able to easily manage and cycle their passwords as needed using their own interface they created. It would be nice if Microsoft provided more guidance in that area."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Provide a central, secure repository for keys.
What is most valuable?
It is a managed service in Azure, you do not have to worry about security other than the access. The vaults themselves are inherently secure.
What needs improvement?
It's too early for me to say with certainty, but what I'm seeing thus far is that Key Vault at face value is more of a secure store than it is a password manager. I suspect that we may be able to use logic apps to perform some actions that a password manager would, but a little more focus in this area would be beneficial.
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For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure Key Vault for one day.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 15 users using the solution in my organization.
How was the initial setup?
The setup of my test files has been easy and the documentation is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
I handle the implementation of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution is reasonable for what we are using it for.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not have a great solution in the past. We wanted something better, and everything that I read about Microsoft Azure Key Vault was good. We did evaluate other solutions but we were already using Azure for other things, it made sense to implement Microsoft Azure Key Vault.
What other advice do I have?
Other people's opinions of Microsoft Azure Key Vault seem to be quite good.
I rate Microsoft Azure Key Vault an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Manager at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Reasonably priced, stable, and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
- "The solution can scale up as needed."
- "Overall, it's a great product."
- "The solution does not allow you to integrate with XML parties if it is not inside Azure itself."
What is our primary use case?
We were using the solution to store our keys that includes secrets, passwords, and also application properties.
What is most valuable?
The application properties and the ability to store our certificates too have been great aspects of the solution.
Mainly, having the application properties where all our applications' configurations were stored in the key vault was very useful.
The initial setup is pretty simple.
The stability is very good.
The solution can scale up as needed.
The solution offers very reasonable pricing.
What needs improvement?
I can't recall coming across any missing features or elements.
The solution does not allow you to integrate with XML parties if it is not inside Azure itself.
For how long have I used the solution?
I used the solution during my previous project that I handled last year. I used it for a full year, from January to December.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. I never had issues, for example, with stability, bugs or glitches, or crashing. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution can scale. It is already a platform as a service, and therefore, it's already scaled up.
Our entire company is currently using the product.
How are customer service and support?
I did not use technical support when I worked with the product. Therefore, I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did use HashiCorp Vault. We used to use it, and then we moved to Azure Key Vault due to the fact that it's a cloud platform as a solution and it is easy to implement.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward, however, we never used the console. We always used to use the Azure CLIs to set everything up.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is very reasonable. It's not overly expensive.
What other advice do I have?
We're a Microsoft partner.
I cannot recall which version of the solution I used for the project I worked on.
Overall, it's a great product.
There's nothing I dislike about the solution. I would rate the solution at a ten 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
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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September 2026
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Associate Vice President (Data Security & Protection - Confidential AI) at Standard Chartered Bank
Easy to use GUI, good support, and it's reasonably priced
Pros and Cons
- "The GUI was quite easy for me to use."
- "Technical support from Microsoft is excellent."
- "The integration with Thales HSM is complex and is not out-of-the-box. Uploading the keys was quite a tedious process."
What is our primary use case?
We are a financial institution and we are using this product to manage our keys. We are currently trying to roll out a "Bring Your Own Key" solution for Azure and Office 365.
What is most valuable?
The GUI was quite easy for me to use.
Integration with Fortanix is good.
What needs improvement?
The integration with Thales HSM is complex and is not out-of-the-box. Uploading the keys was quite a tedious process.
For how long have I used the solution?
We are just beginners with the Microsoft Azure Key Vault and only started using it within the past six months.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 150,000 employees across the organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support from Microsoft is excellent. The reason we still buy Microsoft products is because of their support. The documentation is good and they also provide free, professional support.
The premium support is available at an additional cost, but professional support is free with the license.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to Azure Key Vault, we were using the Bring Your Own Key solution, Thales Hardware Security Module (HSM). It worked seamlessly to generate our own key and upload it to the key vault. However, with Azure and Office 365, Microsoft manages the keys. I started using Azure Key Vault because it is an out-of-the-box feature with Azure, and it replaced our Thales HSM.
The installation of Thales HSM is a little bit complex. When we installed it, we needed to have two VDAs. There is an online VDA and an offline VDA, and we have to retrieve information from the offline one and pass it to the online one. These are complex tasks in our environment. Because it is a highly regulated industry, even moving a key is not easy for us. We have to go through all of the processes.
Because of the complications that we have had, we were looking at replacing Thales HSM with Fortanix. It integrates with Azure Key Vault and the key upload process is quite easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing is quite reasonable and support is included, although premium support is available for an additional fee.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I am currently researching and evaluating HashiCorp Vault. We have not yet run a PoC but I am learning the differences between these two solutions. In addition to Azure, we have AWS and multiple cloud platforms, and we have heard that HashiCorp Vault is the best solution for cases like this.
HashiCorp Vault is open-source and has a command-line interface.
One of the things that I would like to know is whether HashiCorp can be used for Azure workloads. For example, can it be used in a situation where a user brings their own key for Office 365, or does that only work with Azure Key Vault?
What other advice do I have?
Overall, this is a good product and the support is fantastic.
I would rate this solution an eight 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
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Lead Software Engineer Individual Contributor at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees
We can store secrets securely and encrypt them
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the ability to store secrets securely and encrypt them, and it is pretty easy and straightforward to use."
- "I would like more code examples."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case is for storing secrets.
How has it helped my organization?
It has improved our organization. We have been able to secure our passwords and secrets. We didn't have to add an extra tool in addition to this solution.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the ability to store secrets securely and encrypt them. It is pretty easy and straightforward to use.
What needs improvement?
I would like more code examples.
For how long have I used the solution?
Over six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a reliable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have had no problems with scalability.
We are deploying it on 10 client systems.
How are customer service and technical support?
I haven't needed support for this application. However, when I need support from Microsoft, I get it immediately.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I went straight to this solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
Including research and getting up to speed with the technology, the deployment took less than a week for the PoC. Deploying it all the way to production took about a month. It took a week to determine that it was the right tool. It took another three weeks to implement in all environments, like UAT production and test. We tried it on a dev environment first, then we implemented it over different stages, like QA, test, and production.
We deploy the solution in just one location.
What about the implementation team?
I did the deployment.
What was our ROI?
It is a good deal.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is decent. It has a pretty low price. It is a straightforward cost based on usage.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I just went straight to Azure Key Vault.
What other advice do I have?
Follow the Microsoft official documentation for this solution. It is pretty straightforward and very well documented.
I would rate Azure Key Vault as nine out of 10.
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
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
DevOps Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Increased the security of our organization
Pros and Cons
- "I would say it's granular controller who can access them."
- "We've experienced issues with configuration."
What is our primary use case?
We have an application connecting to the database. So we have implemented an authentication in place wherein without that particular secret value, it won't be authenticated. So that is a use case that I can tell you about Azure Key. We have implemented it for some small identity providers as well.
How has it helped my organization?
Using Azure key Vault has increased the security of our organization.
What is most valuable?
I would say its granular access control is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
It would be great if it would integrate with other cloud solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Key Vault for the past 2 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think the stability works perfectly. I've never seen a block from the cloud side. But there might be some problems when we are configuring it. So maybe we are missing some strings or something, but I have never seen an issue from the cloud side.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
A thousand people using the solution at present.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
How was the initial setup?
You have to configure based on, like, who should access routers, security should be generated, the identity management and everything. And Azure Microsoft people have provided a good documentation on it. They have provided a good labs also and good videos also for reference. So I believe everything is good on that part.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Consultant at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology
Provides excellent features to secure content and resources and has high availability
Pros and Cons
- "The access policy feature helps secure content and resources."
- "The product must provide AI features."
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution for saving keys. We use it to manage encryption keys and secrets in our applications.
What is most valuable?
It is a good solution. I use it to deploy my services. All the features are valuable. The access policy feature helps secure content and resources. We use the automated key rotation feature to secure the deployments and the development process. It can be used to secure resources. The availability is high. We can integrate the tool with VMs, storage, and Azure App Service.
What needs improvement?
The product must provide AI features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for three to four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The tool has high stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The tool’s scalability is high. Our clients are small, medium, and enterprise businesses.
How are customer service and support?
The support must be improved.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. The deployment took a few minutes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is normal. The product is neither cheap nor expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I am an implementer and designer. I will recommend the product to others to keep keys, secrets, and related information secure. Overall, I rate the product a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Implementer
Data engineer at Inicon S.r.l.
Easy-to-setup product helping us improve compliance and auditing processes
Pros and Cons
- "The platform provides straightforward integration with most of the other Azure services."
What is our primary use case?
The product’s most valuable feature is the ability to store secret information.
For how long have I used the solution?
Azure Key Vault has been a crucial component in securing sensitive information within our organization. It includes storing critical details such as usernames, passwords, and other confidential data.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a simple service. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The service is easy to set up. However, the process requires various details, such as access controls and permissions. It includes determining who can create, read, or modify secrets. Overall, it is relatively easy and can be efficiently deployed through templates into CI/CD pipelines and DevOps workflows.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is inexpensive.
What other advice do I have?
The platform provides straightforward integration with most of the other Azure services. It has improved the compliance and auditing processes. Earlier, we had to either store secret information inside the application or develop a custom solution to comply with it. There was a high chance of the data getting corrupted as different people had access to it.
I rate Azure Key Vault an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Implementer
Senior Software Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Secures DevOps processes and stores secrets
Pros and Cons
- "The integration with other Azure services is one of the standout features for me. It allows us to use secrets from the Azure Key Vault seamlessly without direct interaction.Additionally, the ability to easily mark secrets for expiration and receive notifications is invaluable."
- "One area for improvement is the notification system for secret expiration. It would be beneficial if the service could handle this more autonomously, eliminating the need for additional integrations."
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use the solution to secure our DevOps processes and store all the essential secrets for our project's services.
What is most valuable?
The integration with other Azure services is one of the standout features for me. It allows us to use secrets from the Azure Key Vault seamlessly without direct interaction.Additionally, the ability to easily mark secrets for expiration and receive notifications is invaluable.
What needs improvement?
One area for improvement is the notification system for secret expiration. It would be beneficial if the service could handle this more autonomously, eliminating the need for additional integrations.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Key Vault for about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the solution's stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate Azure Key Vault's scalability an eight out of ten. My company has more than 50 users. We use it daily.
How was the initial setup?
I rate the tool's deployment an eight out of ten. It takes less than a minute to complete. You need two resources to handle it; no maintenance is involved since it is a managed service.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the tool an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
DB and Systems Engineer at JCC Payment Systems Ltd
Beneficial secret data storage, reliable, and simple setup
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Azure Key Vault is the secret storage of data."
- "If multiple clouds are to be used it can be difficult and a third party should assist in the implementation."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Azure Key Vault for holding secrets, such as certificates and API management. We're using it for integrating and saving secrets for web applications.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Azure Key Vault is the secret storage of data.
What needs improvement?
If multiple clouds are to be used it can be difficult and a third party should assist in the implementation.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Key Vault for approximately six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the stability of Azure Key Vault a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the scalability of Azure Key Vault a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
I have not had issues needing support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Azure Key Vault was easy.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to others is if they want to do a multi-cloud deployment it should be done by a third party.
I rate Azure Key Vault a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Program Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
An affordable and effective tool for securing databases
Pros and Cons
- "Its customer service is excellent."
- "They should add a key vault feature for the databases temporarily integrated into hybrid clouds."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution to authenticate security features for environments. Using it, we can encrypt keys and protect the databases from getting hacked.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution works as an effective tool for securing our organization's databases.
What needs improvement?
They should add a key vault feature for the databases temporarily integrated into hybrid clouds. Also, they should make the key accessible once the databases migrate to another environment.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for seven years.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's customer service is excellent.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup process is moderately complex. It is a time-consuming process if you are new to the product. But, if you know source applications and target databases, it just takes a few hours. Whereas in the case of larger environments, it might take days to complete.
What about the implementation team?
Our in-house team deploys the solution. It requires three executives to work on larger deployments. Also, it requires a huge team when there are multiple databases to work with.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is affordable compared to other competitors.
What other advice do I have?
I advise others to use the solution if they already work with Microsoft Azure environment. In such cases, they should not prefer integration with a third-party tool. They should consider other products if the databases are distributed to on-cloud and on-premises infrastructures.
I rate the solution as an eight.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. MSP
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Updated: September 2026
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