In my department, we primarily use AWS. However, for single sign-on, we use Azure Directory. It helps with integration when logging into various systems. The IT operations team utilizes Microsoft Defender for tasks such as tracking various endpoints and conducting business reviews.
Senior DevSecOps Engineer at a media company with 501-1,000 employees
Comes with account management feature but interface needs to be made similar to AWS
Pros and Cons
- "The tool's most valuable aspect is the account management side. This involves tasks such as assigning credentials to different individuals, managing user accounts, and implementing Privileged Access Management."
- "The tool should add an interface that is similar to AWS."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The tool's most valuable aspect is the account management side. This involves tasks such as assigning credentials to different individuals, managing user accounts, and implementing Privileged Access Management.
What needs improvement?
The tool should add an interface that is similar to AWS.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure is stable.
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Microsoft Azure
October 2026
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My company has around five to ten users for Microsoft Azure. It is scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The tool's deployment is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft Azure is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
The tool is a great product to use, and very intuitive. It is beneficial for users and enterprises. I rate it an eight out of ten. The product is easy to learn, but it may become difficult depending on your technical ability.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Quality Assurance Engineer at OAD
Easy to set up and has high stability
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has high stability."
- "We have reported some bugs we encountered, and it would be good if those bugs were resolved more quickly."
What is most valuable?
The solution has high stability.
What needs improvement?
We have reported some bugs we encountered, and it would be good if those bugs were resolved more quickly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure for more than one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the solution a nine out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Currently, we are happy with how the solution scales. Around 60 users use the solution in our organization on a daily basis.
I rate the solution an eight out of ten for scalability.
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup was quite easy, and you can get support to help you with the installation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
We use management tools for APIs. A few people were involved in the solution’s deployment and maintenance. I would recommend the solution to other users.
Overall, I rate Microsoft Azure a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure
October 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Useful for PaaS, web services, databases, and AD
Pros and Cons
- "The tool's most valuable features are SQL servers and Managed Instance databases."
- "Microsoft Azure needs to be simplified to make it better understood for users."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for PaaS, web services, databases, and AD.
What is most valuable?
The tool's most valuable features are SQL servers and Managed Instance databases.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Azure needs to be simplified to make it better understood for users.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate Microsoft Azure's stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool's scalability an eight out of ten. My company has ten users.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't contacted the tool's technical support. My Microsoft partner takes care of it.
How was the initial setup?
I rate Microsoft Azure's deployment a seven out of ten. It takes around half an hour to complete. You need two resources to handle the deployment. I am involved in its maintenance.
What about the implementation team?
A Microsoft partner helped us with the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the tool's pricing a six out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
Our workflow has been good since using Azure Data Factory. There are previews of new features available, which I am happy about. I rate the product an eight out of ten.
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.
Solutions Architect at MTN
Has an easy-to-use portal, but its initial setup is a bit complex
Pros and Cons
- "The portal makes it easier to work with the solution."
- "The solution's initial setup was a bit complex in the beginning."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Azure for migration purposes.
What is most valuable?
The portal makes it easier to work with the solution.
What needs improvement?
The solution's initial setup was a bit complex in the beginning. We had to go through a major learning curve before we got hands-on familiarity with it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure for one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate Microsoft Azure a seven out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure is a scalable solution. Less than 20 users in our organization use Microsoft Azure.
I rate Microsoft Azure an eight out of ten for scalability.
How was the initial setup?
I rate Microsoft Azure a five to six out of ten for the ease of its initial setup.
What about the implementation team?
The solution's deployment time depends purely on the size of the application. On average, the solution's deployment would take us anywhere from two weeks and longer. Depending on our testing, it would take us about a month to design and deploy the solution.
What other advice do I have?
Microsoft Azure is deployed on the cloud.
I would recommend Microsoft Azure to other users, but they should have a strong system integrator or someone working with Microsoft to assist. The strength would lie with the organization deploying the solution; they have to be on par to understand better what is happening.
Overall, I rate Microsoft Azure a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical support engineer at 64 Network security pvt ltd
An exceptionally stable and easy-to-access solution for file storage and file backup
Pros and Cons
- "Feature-wise, I like its stability. Also, it is easy to access the solution and its options."
- "The security feature in the solution is an area that needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We were using Microsoft Azure for file storage and file backup. So, it was one of our backup resources. Internally, NAS is there in our company. So, we go from NAS to Veeam and Veeam to Azure.
What is most valuable?
Feature-wise, I like its stability. Also, it is easy to access the solution and its options. Also, the backup solutions can take anything, so we can easily find out any option.
What needs improvement?
The security feature in the solution is an area that needs to be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have experience with Microsoft Azure until six months ago. Also, I was using the solution's latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable product. There are more than 100 users using the solution. I am just involved in the maintenance of the servers and infrastructures.
How are customer service and support?
We need to purchase Microsoft Azure for our clients, including cloud backup and any Azure solutions. So, So that time, we need to contact technical support. I expect more technical support from Azure.
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup is straightforward. When you need to create multiple tasks, the solution can get complex. I am not involved in the deployment process.
What other advice do I have?
I can recommend it to other people who want to start using it. So, our company provides a lot of solutions to our clients, including backup solutions like NAS storage, cloud storage, and servers. Parallely, we provide support to users.
I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
BI Expert at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reliable, high performance, and stable
Pros and Cons
- "I have not had a problem with the stability. It is reliable."
- "I have found Microsoft Azure has many components to use and it's very difficult to understand every component."
What is our primary use case?
I only use Microsoft Azure for queries, creating databases, and applying rules. The data lakes are very simple to connect.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Azure is a very fast and high-performance solution. It is the best product today.
What needs improvement?
I have found Microsoft Azure has many components to use and it's very difficult to understand every component.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Microsoft Azure within the past 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have not had a problem with the stability. It is reliable.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Amazon AWS, Oracle SQL, and NoSQL databases.
How was the initial setup?
The configuration of Microsoft Azure can be difficult because of the mapping.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Azure an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Associate Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Competitively priced with excellent integration
Pros and Cons
- "The best feature is it's easy to integrate with other Microsoft solutions."
- "I prefer Azure to AWS or Google because it's cheaper and its ecosystem is better integrated."
- "Compared with other cloud solution providers, Microsoft is not good at local support."
What is our primary use case?
I mainly use Azure for data analytics and implementation.
What is most valuable?
The best feature is it's easy to integrate with other Microsoft solutions.
What needs improvement?
Compared with other cloud solution providers, Microsoft is not good at local support.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with Azure for almost five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Azure's stability is ok, but there are issues sometimes. I'd rate its stability as seven or eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Azure is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Microsoft isn't good at local support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Azure is cheaper than solutions from other cloud vendors like AWS or Google.
What other advice do I have?
I prefer Azure to AWS or Google because it's cheaper and its ecosystem is better integrated. I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Implementer
Consultant at SoftwareONE
Useful services, highly scalable, and easy to implement
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Azure has a lot of useful features. They have databases, application services, PaaS solutions, such as platform and infrastructure services. The virtual machines' functions and services are good."
- "My advice to those thinking about using Microsoft Azure is to try it, it's a great service."
- "Microsoft Azure can improve by adding more features for virtual machines, such as tier virtual machines."
- "Microsoft Azure technical support is not the best, they could improve the knowledge of their team and solve problems faster."
What is our primary use case?
I have worked in a consultant company and we have customers who migrate their services to the cloud and to modern applications and services using Microsoft Azure.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Azure has a lot of useful features. They have databases, application services, PaaS solutions, such as platform and infrastructure services. The virtual machines' functions and services are good.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Azure can improve by adding more features for virtual machines, such as tier virtual machines.
In an upcoming release, I would like to see more information, features, and warehouse information on data.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure is highly stable. However, Microsoft could improve the availability of the services by creating availability zones that are services working active-active in different positions around the globe. If any of these positions fall down, then another position will deliver the solution. This way there is no loss of service or loss to the business.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure has a lot of features for scalability. You could increase the scalability of any service, such as databases storage or virtual machines.
How are customer service and support?
Microsoft Azure technical support is not the best, they could improve the knowledge of their team and solve problems faster.
How was the initial setup?
The solution can be easy to implement. You could start easily, there are some services that have simple steps, and you could speed up the entire process. However, there are some more difficult deployments in more complicated architectures. You could start easily in the solution and then you can improve your skills.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to those thinking about using Microsoft Azure is to try it, it's a great service. It's a great opportunity to improve your career because there are a lot of challenges. I would recommend using the documentation and the information from the YouTube channels. There is a lot of documentation and data about Microsoft Azure available.
I rate Microsoft Azure a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Implementation Engineer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Feature-rich, user-friendly, good performance, and is easy to setup
Pros and Cons
- "We are satisfied with this solution and have not had any issues with the performance or the stability, and it is more user-friendly than AWS."
- "The license price could be lower."
What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Azure is essentially an IaaS solution, we use the DMs and everything in that.
Microsoft Azure is primarily an Infrastructure as a Service product.
What is most valuable?
We are satisfied with this solution.
We have not had any issues with the performance, or the stability.
It's more user-friendly than AWS.
What needs improvement?
I have only been using it for a month, so I'm still learning about the various options that are available. They have a lot of options, but I won't be able to comment unless I use it or explore it properly. Everything is fine, but I'm still learning.
The license price could be lower. If there is anything else, I will not know unless I explore.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have just started working with Microsoft Azure. I have been working with it for one month. I got my trial subscription and started working with it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure is a scalable product.
I use it for my own personal use.
How are customer service and support?
I contacted technical support a while ago. They were also helpful. I only had one question about the file quarantine and file locking options, and they were very helpful. They have a support team that responds fairly well.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
For remote work, we have been using Microsoft Teams.
We are also using McAfee Proxy, as well as Box.
We are also using Amazon AWS.
I've only recently begun working with AWS. I started but then stopped because I didn't like the user interface.
AWS is used and preferred by a large number of customers, but I am more comfortable working on Azure rather than AWS. This is a personal preference.
How was the initial setup?
The initial configuration is straightforward. We only need an email ID and we can sign up in a matter of minutes.
What about the implementation team?
We can complete the installation on our own.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing is determined by how much you can use and how much you want to use it.
It's not on a per-user basis; it's on a per subscription basis. It is dependent on how much you use. It has a metering system. If you use a service, you will have to pay for it. You do not have to pay if you do not use any of the services. That's how it works.
The licensing fees could be cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend this solution to others who are considering using it.
I would rate Microsoft Azure a ten 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.
Principal Cloud Architect at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees
This has become a critical solution for us with its broad diversity of services
Pros and Cons
- "Reliable with ease of provisional services."
- "I like the reliability of the solution and the ease of provisional services which can be a click and go."
- "More expensive than other solutions without justification."
- "I find that in many cases it's more expensive than AWS, and for no good reason."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is mostly for deploying services where we do not have the local infrastructure like hardware, or where it's not necessary for us to have the knowledge about how to set up a certain service. We just want to use it without concerns regarding running the service, backup, availability, etc. That's the reason we pay Microsoft the money for its Azure services, so we can just go ahead and use the product. Some of the services they've rendered have become business critical for the company, so we're using the solution on a daily basis.
What is most valuable?
I like the reliability of the solution and the ease of provisional services which can be a click and go. I also like the broad diversity of services that are being offered.
What needs improvement?
I find that in many cases it's more expensive than AWS, and for no good reason. The pricing itself is also quite difficult to comprehend, it's not easy to know the total cost and not worth checking the calculator because the outcome is going to be totally different anyhow. I also find it difficult that they are specific to x86 and x64 machines, I haven't found any ARM-based virtual machine images that I could run in my IP test lab, which would be a great boost for productivity because I could run the internal pipeline in the cloud and would not have to divert to locally installed devices.
If they want to be serious with IT devices then they should find a way of deploying ARM-based devices to Azure, to get more freedom of choice with virtual machines and services. It would be hardware virtual machine image offerings to other platforms, not only PC-based or x86-based. It would make my life much easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for four and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There are some glitches but it's a pretty solid solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable solution.
How are customer service and support?
Overall, I'm quite satisfied with the technical support. There were different expectations about what I had understood from the description of the support offered and what the architects of Microsoft meant to deploy. Some of the documentation for Azure is sketchy enough to leave room for questions and that had to be sorted out with support, which is not a fault that the support guys should have to concern themselves with. If the documentation is not clear and the cloud device goes, then there's clearly room for improvement.
How was the initial setup?
The start was far easier than we expected it to be, but the complexity caught up with us half a year later also. It got more complex as we went along. We carried out the deployment ourselves. I'm a very experienced administrator, I know a lot about concepts of data centers. I know how they work, I know how to set them up. This is just another data center, it's just that it's not mine.
What other advice do I have?
We found it difficult to train our regular Windows admins to dive into Azure things, so it's important to get the right people or the project is doomed. There are too many people who don't really want to get to grips with the cloud. I would also suggest not starting from a fully regulated basis. We have our deployment fully integrated with Azure Active Directory, which can be quite a hindrance when it comes to just playing around with things. It's essential to give people developer accounts where they can just play around, break things, work through them, like a little lab.
I would rate this solution an eight 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.
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Updated: October 2026
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