Azure cloud is a platform for many things, such as hosting, file services, application or power apps, and data lake. All these things are a part of Microsoft Azure. We're using it as a full suite. We are a big tenant with all solutions for Microsoft. We are using the latest version of Microsoft Azure.
Senior Regional IT Infrastructure Consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
A feature-rich and stable platform with good redundancy and scalability
Pros and Cons
- "The redundancy across different regions is the most valuable. It provides a big value for cloud services, especially for Microsoft."
- "Azure cloud is a platform for many things, such as hosting, file services, application or power apps, and data lake."
- "The level of authorization or authorization cascading can be improved. We have the most powerful admins and then we have sub-admins, but the level of authorization is not that easy to handle or manage."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The redundancy across different regions is the most valuable. It provides a big value for cloud services, especially for Microsoft.
What needs improvement?
The level of authorization or authorization cascading can be improved. We have the most powerful admins and then we have sub-admins, but the level of authorization is not that easy to handle or manage.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure for three years. I am using this solution on a daily basis. It is the main platform that we have.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability is good. It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very easy to scale. We have more than 7,000 users.
How are customer service and support?
They are pretty sufficient. I would rate them an eight out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also have different cloud vendors like Amazon and Salesforce, but they all are for different purposes, so it depends on the service.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was simple. It was done in stages.
What about the implementation team?
We had the full support and dedication from Microsoft for its installation. Its maintenance is done by a vendor, and we also have some technical support from Microsoft when we are doing this stuff.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft always provides the entry-level solution with a cheap license. Once you start to like the product, then you have to pay for the full package, which is more expensive than the entry-level solution. Every feature comes with a license and a cost. Some licenses have multiple features, and some features require a specific license.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise starting directly with Microsoft and then asking the vendors to recommend the trusted partners to work on the implementation or migration, and not vice versa. First, talk with the architect of the design and see if they can recommend a trusted partner who can do the implementation.
I would rate Microsoft Azure a nine out of ten. It is a big product and platform. It covers many things in terms of features.
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.
IT Unit Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Kubernetes service and API management are the most valuable, and it has very good stability and scalability
Pros and Cons
- "Kubernetes service and API management are the most valuable."
- "It provides us with access to technology that's not available in any other form and only exists in the cloud, so in order to keep our solutions modern, we have to do it through the public cloud."
- "It should have a better hybrid-cloud central analysis. Their support service also needs to be improved. Our main concern is support calls. Our issue is basically related to the technical functionality of the services that we use. It doesn't behave as expected, and support often fails to solve the problem."
- "It should have a better hybrid-cloud central analysis. Their support service also needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use it to extend our own data centers and banking scenarios for banking solutions.
How has it helped my organization?
It provides us with access to technology that's not available in any other form. It only exists in the cloud. In order to keep our solutions modern, we have to do it through the public cloud.
What is most valuable?
Kubernetes service and API management are the most valuable.
What needs improvement?
It should have a better hybrid-cloud central analysis. Their support service also needs to be improved. Our main concern is support calls. Our issue is basically related to the technical functionality of the services that we use. It doesn't behave as expected, and support often fails to solve the problem.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is pretty stable. It has very good stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. There are no issues with scalability.
We have a maximum of 200 users. They include internal developers and other types of profiles.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support service needs to be improved.
How was the initial setup?
It is complex because the solutions are complex. It depends on how you want to do the setup. For our business scenario, it is complex because there are a lot of security rules that are involved in it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is competitive with other public cloud providers, and its price is very close to different cloud providers. There is not a noticeable difference between different cloud providers. Otherwise, it would be a risk for them to have services that were much more expensive than their competition. They're pretty much neck to neck on pricing.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise others to go for the closest possible platform as a service. Do not go for infrastructure as a service; go for platform as a service.
I would 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.
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Senior Architect at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
Good monitoring features and technical support, but the dashboards need to be improved
Pros and Cons
- "The monitoring features are very good."
- "The technical support is really good."
- "Some of the dashboard features can be improved. Some of the backup solutions for SAP are not compatible."
What is most valuable?
The monitoring features are very good.
What needs improvement?
Some of the dashboard features can be improved.
Some of the backup solutions for SAP are not compatible. For example, we have a Sybase database running, and Azure does not have an agent tool for connecting with it. This means that we have to use a third-party tool to properly backup our SAP Sybase system.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Microsoft Azure for between two and three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Azure is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable solution and we have been 200 and 300 people who use it.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is really good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have not used another public cloud.
What about the implementation team?
We have an in-house team, and between 10 and 20 people maintain it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing model can be improved because we find that Azure pricing is a bit high.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We are planning to migrate our SAP system to the cloud, so we have been looking at and comparing different cloud solutions. We are analyzing and comparing Google Cloud Platform, Amazon, and the IBM Cloud. After we compare them all we will make a decision.
What other advice do I have?
The suitability of this product depends on the customer's requirements and needs. AWS is stable and nice, the Google Cloud Platform is really improving a lot, and IBM Cloud is also available. The decision for which to use will be based on what kind of solutions you are deploying and how you want to integrate them. Ultimately, it is best to choose the provider that is most suitable for your existing workload.
Overall, this is a good solution but there are certainly features that need to be improved, as well as the pricing.
I would rate this solution a seven 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.
Consultant at Rpc Data
Easy to add on services, relatively stable, and very scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft offers free courses and an exam on their products. Many of my colleagues who use Microsoft Azure take advantage of those free courses to help them learn about the solution in depth."
- "The solution is quite stable; there are no bugs or glitches, it doesn't crash or freeze, and it's quite reliable for our organization."
- "It would be nice if there was an on-premises version of the solution, and it wasn't just cloud-based."
What is our primary use case?
This solution is used to migrate data to the cloud. They have a few different ways that this can happen. You can use the public cloud or private cloud, for example. Or you can use a hybrid as well.
If you want to add some services, they have that capability to do that. Even if you want to improve your network, and you want to add your storage, or you want to maybe improve the speed of your infrastructure, they have that capability.
What is most valuable?
They own a SaaS model. They have applications such as Microsoft Office 365, which is a cloud service. When I was using Oracle Linux desktop, I was still able to use Microsoft Office 365 to do my daily work.
If I want to send a Word document, I don't have to install anything. I don't have to hassle with the installation of Microsoft Office in Linux. It's quite a process to do that. However, if we have the internet, we can do everything we need to without having to install anything. You can do all of the Office activities including PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. It's very easy.
Microsoft offers free courses and an exam on their products. Many of my colleagues who use Microsoft Azure take advantage of those free courses to help them learn about the solution in depth.
What needs improvement?
It would be nice if there was an on-premises version of the solution, and it wasn't just cloud-based. Oracle, for example, has both capabilities. Some people don't understand the cloud, or are hesitant, and this might prevent them from adopting the product. Also, migrating to the cloud can bring a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of trouble to some companies. Some prefer that their data is not moved from the premises, or have requirements to that effect. If Microsoft could address these concerns, that would be ideal.
The solution has a lot of terms of services. These should be simplified.
For how long have I used the solution?
I haven't been using the solution for very long. In fact, it has only been a few weeks at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's quite reliable for our organization.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have noticed that they have the capability to scale. Even you are not using some of the services, you can still scale. Let's say, you have bought large storage, and you notice that you no longer want to use it anymore. You have the chance to reduce that and not have to pay for more than you need. You pay as you go, therefore they have the capability to accommodate shifts in sizing. Most of the cloud providers do have that capability whereby you don't have to use something that you do not need.
We do plan to use the solution into the future as it does offer us good flexibility.
How are customer service and technical support?
I'm not really on the technical side of things, and therefore I don't generally deal with technical support. Therefore, I can't speak to their level of knowledge or their responsiveness.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, I've also used Oracle and IBM.
How was the initial setup?
I personally didn't have to do an installation.
All you need to do is read the documentation, and everything you need to know is right there. It's quite straightforward in that sense.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution offers a freemium model. There are some things that they can give for free, however, if you exceed certain levels in terms of what you were initially given, then they have to charge you for that. That's why, usually when you create the account, they want you to use your credit card so that when you exceed your limit, they will be able to charge you for that.
When you want to do the license, there is a certain amount that you need to pay. The pricing varies according to usage and differs in terms of the services and the models that you need. For those who need a platform as a service for developers, or infrastructure as a service, or software as a service, they provide for those scenarios. However, the pricing will depend on the service that you want.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a consultant. I work as a partner with Microsoft.
We're using the latest version of the solution at this time.
I would recommend the solution to others.
I'd rate it nine out of ten overall.
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. Partner
Sr Solutions Architect at System Soft Technologies, LLC
Information protection is great as is the ability to provide temporary and secure access to vendors
Pros and Cons
- "Good information protection feature."
- "Enabling them to use OPEX spend just to utilize what they need when they need it at a low cost, was super valuable to them."
- "Could be more user friendly; initial setup is difficult to understand."
- "This solution is not user friendly to set up and it's difficult to understand, particularly with regard to information protection and the sort of licensing needed to utilize it."
What is our primary use case?
The product is being used for document sharing and archiving. The company wants their customers to be able to pull certain documents that they put on file. The idea is that through active directory B2B, they will offer access to the different files and customers will be able to pull the files they need from the server. The company uses information protection to make sure that only the right people have access to the right files. We are integrators, mainly on the software side. We are partners with Microsoft Azure and I'm a senior solution architect.
How has it helped my organization?
The company has different vendors that they bring in. This product has made it easier to onboard those individuals and to provide access to them when needed and then to basically cut them off when the time comes. The way they have it set up, documents can't be downloaded. They are only accessible online but can be accessed from anywhere so the company doesn't have to worry about setting up VPNs and the like. They provide a username, password, a two-factor authentication and that enables access.
What is most valuable?
Information protection is a good feature because you can label different documents and different files, and that allows them to put like NDA files in a specific bucket, as opposed to just regular, safe or confidential storage.
What needs improvement?
This solution is not user friendly to set up and it's difficult to understand, particularly with regard to information protection and the sort of licensing needed to utilize it. Simplification would go a long way.
I'd like to see them improve on the watermarking. There's a feature that allows you to watermark documents that are checked out. Currently it watermarks a document with whoever publishes it. For example, if you wanted to watermark the email address, it doesn't watermark with the person checking out the file, but with the person publishing the document. It would be more valuable if the watermarking was related to the person checking out the document, in case it leaks out.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for several years and on my most recent project, for the past six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability has been great. We haven't had any issues whatsoever with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
As far as I know, scalability is fine. Our current customer isn't huge so I can't speak to enterprise size customers. It's not infinite scalability, but it is Azure Cloud. If you need more storage, you buy more storage.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is fairly complex. There is a ton of documentation, but once you get through that it's really not difficult, it's just not intuitive. The product requires better documentation that explains things. I think a lot of it has to do with the licensing requirements. It's not obvious and so you can be following a step-by-step tutorial and still not get it right because the software requirements aren't right but it doesn't give you that in clear text.
You can probably set this up within 30 minutes, realistically, as long as you know all the steps. Unfortunately, it took about four or five hours to troubleshoot the situation because we didn't understand what the license requirements were. We had to go and obtain those licenses and try it a second time. It'll be fine now because we understand it but there are certain things like having to be a security administrator within the roles and responsibility matrix, and that's not really outlined in the documentation.
What was our ROI?
The company wanted it to deploy rapidly. They didn't want to spend a lot on this project to buy storage, and clear that storage, ensuring that it was 100% secure. This was either going to be a very short-term project or it was going to blow up to something large and they weren't sure which direction it was going to go. Enabling them to use OPEX spend just to utilize what they need when they need it at a low cost, was super valuable to them.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend anyone wanting to implement this solution to carry out background homework on active directory, on information access management (IAM), and then understand the licensing before you deploy. That aside, it's pretty straightforward. I've learned that setting up secure documents doesn't have to be difficult as long as you take into account those caveats of understanding your licensing and active directory.
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.
Managing Owner at Transform8tion Limited
Provides useful features and can be deployed within a few hours
Pros and Cons
- "SQL Server has been most beneficial for our client’s workload."
- "The security must be improved."
How has it helped my organization?
We had a cloud migration project from on-premise to the cloud. We used various components like Azure’s cost calculator to provide the ongoing running costs.
What is most valuable?
SQL Server has been most beneficial for our client’s workload.
What needs improvement?
Everything needs improvement. The tool must constantly improve to provide a better experience. The security must be improved. The scalability could also be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s scalability a nine out of ten. Our clients are medium to large businesses.
How was the initial setup?
I rate the ease of setup a five out of ten. The product is deployed on the cloud. The deployment took a few hours.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the pricing an eight out of ten. All cloud services are expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the solution’s ability to support our client’s business growth a seven out of ten. We don't get direct support from Microsoft. I rate Azure's integration capabilities a seven out of ten. I will recommend the tool to others. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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