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Crispus  Ombogo - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Onelife consultants ltd
Reseller
Good technical support, feature-rich, and performs well
Pros and Cons
    • "I believe the only room for improvement is that I am based in Nairobi, if it has even a local node for Azure, I believe most customers will prefer that to reduce latencies and everything else when using the Azure Stack."

    What is most valuable?

    I don't have a specific feature, my customers use all of the features that are available and the entire stack.

    What needs improvement?

    I believe the only room for improvement is that I am based in Nairobi, if it has even a local node for Azure, I believe most customers will prefer that to reduce latencies and everything else when using the Azure Stack. They'll be better off if they can set up a local node in Nairobi, Kenya.

    There are local things specific to the Kenya market, which are integrated into local development platforms available in Kenya, which would be helpful if it could be integrated with Azure Stack. We have a solution called M-Pessa, for example. If that can be done on a regular basis, I believe it is time to look for customers who want to use that channel today.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Azure Stack for six years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Azure Stack is a stable product.

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    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Azure Stack is a scalable solution.

    How are customer service and support?

    Technical support is okay. My customers have not complained about the technical support.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I actually work for an integrator company that specializes in UiPath. I primarily use UiPath, but I also use Automation Anywhere and Microsoft Power Automate.

    We use Power Automate, but we also use Power BI for dashboard visualization. Then there's the standard Office 365, and we do have customers who use Azure.

    How was the initial setup?

    I would say the initial setup is medium. It all depends on who is using it, but most customers rate it as a medium. It's not easy, but it's also not difficult. It's average. It's a medium.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    In terms of pricing, my customers believe AWS is slightly more reasonably priced than Azure. They believe it is significantly less expensive than what Azure offers. It is simply a matter of pricing.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would advise them to conduct a thorough assessment of the types of applications they want to host on Azure Stack before beginning the migration process. They must be absolutely certain. Then there are all kinds of local policies, security policies, on migrating data into the Cloud, to put it mildly. They should be on the lookout for such things. So, first and foremost, a proper assessment of what types of applications should be moved entirely to Azure Stack. Then, examine the policies, security policies, and cybersecurity that are associated with all of that.

    I would rate Azure Stack an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer2393208 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Director, Managed Services at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Includes a valuable Azure Active Directory feature
    Pros and Cons
    • "Azure Active Directory is the most valuable feature."
    • "The technical support team's response time needs improvement."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution to include Deployments of VM security, Sentinel Storage, and VPN tunnels.

    What is most valuable?

    Azure Active Directory is the most valuable feature. 

    What needs improvement?

    The technical support team's response time needs improvement. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Azure Stack for ten plus years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is an eight out of ten. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing is reasonable. 

    What other advice do I have?

    Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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    Commercial Director at BinBox Global Services
    Real User
    Best Hybrid solution, Low latency, Data sovereignty, security, and compliance, Modern application development
    Pros and Cons
    • "Azure Stack is stable."
    • "It would be great if Azure Stack would enable VDI creation and positive and negative artificial intelligence."

    What is our primary use case?

    I recommend Azure Stack 100% for hybrid cases, dev & test, banking, financial (banking, insurance) , healthcare, public sector.

    Also, The assessments include the following standards:

    PCI-DSS addresses the payment card industry.

    CSA Cloud Control Matrix is a comprehensive mapping across multiple standards, including FedRAMP Moderate, ISO27001, HIPAA, HITRUST, ITAR, NIST SP800-53, and others.

    FedRAMP High for government customers.

    The compliance documentation can be found on the Microsoft Service Trust Portal. The compliance guides are a protected resource and require you to sign in with your Azure cloud service credentials.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The main pillars, on which Binbox is now developing, are Cloud Solutions (public, private and hybrid Cloud) using Azure and our DataCenters (built on state-of-the-art technology), Microsoft 365 and Binbox Managed Services (including 24/7/365 support). These being said, the Azure stack has come to complete our service portfolio like a glove.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features that make Azure Stack different are low latency (<9 ms, high performance), data sovereignty, cloud readiness, public Azure features in the private cloud. Considering all the features, the quality of service / price ratio is superior compared to any cloud option.

    What needs improvement?

    It would be great when Microsoft will enable WDI, AI and Cognitive Services in Azure Stack.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Binbox Global Services has been using Azure Stack since 2018 when we deployed the first Azure Stack in Central and Eastern Europe. We were the second Microsoft partener that deployed an Azure Stack in Europe.

    Now we have 7+ Azure Stacks and other Azure Stacks dedicated to Public Sector.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Azure Stack is stable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Azure Stack Hub provides on-demand, scalable computing resources.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was a little complicated but not too much. 

    What about the implementation team?

    We went through both a private vendor and Microsoft. The private vendor handled one part of the deployment; a Microsoft team did another. They both taught us how to manage Azure Stack. We have a large team of technical engineers who received Azure Stack certification. They know Azure Stack very well. Overall, it was not hard for us to deploy. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?


    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Principal architect at Tech Mahindra Limited
    Real User
    Top 20
    A highly scalable solution that can be used for migration, application modernization, and cloud-native modernization
    Pros and Cons
    • "We use Azure Stack for migration, application modernization, and cloud-native modernization."
    • "Azure Stack's pricing could be improved."

    What is most valuable?

    We use Azure Stack for migration, application modernization, and cloud-native modernization.

    What needs improvement?

    Azure Stack's pricing could be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Azure Stack for around four to five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I rate Azure Stack a nine out of ten for stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Azure Stack is a very scalable solution.

    I rate Azure Stack ten out of ten for scalability.

    How was the initial setup?

    Azure Stack’s initial setup is easy.

    What other advice do I have?

    Azure Stack is deployed on-cloud in our organization. I would recommend Azure Stack to other users.

    Overall, I rate Azure Stack a nine and a half out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1527177 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Deputy General Manager at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    The solution has a great dashboard, but the services available are limited
    Pros and Cons
    • "The admin dashboard is the main feature of the solution."
    • "Azure Stack doesn't have all the services available in Microsoft Azure."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are providing solutions based on Azure Stack to customers. It has the same interface as Microsoft Azure in a local context.

    What is most valuable?

    The admin dashboard is the main feature of the solution. Different services are running on it.

    What needs improvement?

    Azure Stack doesn't have all the services available in Microsoft Azure. It would be useful if Azure Stack could be developed to be like Microsoft Azure with all the services. Although Microsoft manages it, not all of Microsoft Azure’s services are available on Azure Stack. 

    When we try to build a solution on Azure Stack, there are some limitations with the services available, most of which are available on Microsoft Azure. Adding more services to Azure Stack will be beneficial for customers. The product doesn’t have a DR solution available locally. The product does not support a local DR either.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the solution for three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I rate the product’s stability an eight out of ten.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

    How are customer service and support?

    We are getting support through a local partner.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Neutral

    How was the initial setup?

    I rate the ease of initial setup a four out of ten.

    What about the implementation team?

    The deployment process took a few weeks. We needed two to three people to deploy the solution. It's an engineered system that comes with everything loaded. Microsoft’s team handles configurations. We only had to handle the equipment and manage it locally.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Pricing depends on the solutions which we build on. IaaS’s pricing is high. Other services might be competitive.

    What other advice do I have?

    I am using the latest version of the product. Azure Stack is an on-premise solution that gives cloud services to customers. We give it as a cloud service to customers. Although it is a fully managed solution from Microsoft, it has limitations. Overall, I rate the product a six out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Mustafa Kavcioglu - PeerSpot reviewer
    Team Lead at Halkbank
    Real User
    Support is fast but they aren't knowledgeable enough
    Pros and Cons
    • "Microsoft support is fast."
    • "It's not stable as IBM solutions. It fully supports all the .NET solutions, but our main applications are based in Java. So in those cases, we've had some minor problems with Azure, but Microsoft always says that it can handle this stuff."

    What is our primary use case?

    Currently, we are just using it to plan for our proof of concept and internal testing, not for production.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using Azure Stack for more than a year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's not stable as IBM solutions. It fully supports all the .NET solutions, but our main applications are based in Java. So in those cases, we've had some minor problems with Azure, but Microsoft always says that it can handle this stuff.

    How are customer service and support?

    Microsoft's support isn't as good as IBM's. They are fast, but they aren't knowledgeable enough.

    How was the initial setup?

    Setting up Azure Stack isn't as straightforward as IBM's Cloud Pack for Apps. IBM's solution uses OpenShift implementation, so it's fully automated, whereas the Microsoft solution has some hardware issues, so we had to some manual configurations. The total time for deployment was around one week, I guess.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I believe our license is yearly.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate Azure six out of 10. I don't have a lot of opinions on it yet, but when we start using it in production, then I'll have a better idea.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    it_user1210377 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Sr. Practice Lead, Solutions Architect at Inspirisys Solutions Limited
    Real User
    Flexible, easy to use, and the technical support is good
    Pros and Cons
    • "The user interface is nice and very simple to use."
    • "The user experience could be improved to make it more comfortable."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are a solution provider and we provide cloud service to our customers using Azure Stack. Some of the services that they use are Microsoft Intune, Azure Active Directory, and Azure Storage.

    What is most valuable?

    The user interface is nice and very simple to use. 

    Azure provides a great deal of flexibility.

    What needs improvement?

    The user experience could be improved to make it more comfortable.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    My company has been dealing with this solution for the past two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    We have had no complaints with respect to stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Our customers are satisfied with the scalability of Azure Stack.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support is good.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I have experience with AWS and I would have to say that it is more comfortable to use than Azure.

    How was the initial setup?

    It's not complex at all. Based on the customer's requirements, we implement the solution. The deployment usually takes approximately 15 days.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    In terms of costs, it is a standard price, and there is no negotiation.

    What other advice do I have?

    My company is not very involved in the cloud, but Azure Stack is a product that we recommend depending on the customer. If their budget and requirements are appropriate, and they want the flexibility that this solution offers, then we can implement it.

    I do not have experience with all of the products on the market, but from my perspective, Azure Stack is a good one.

    I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1277415 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Exec Manager IT Security &amp; Risk at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Has good stability and an easy setup
    Pros and Cons
    • "The stability is good. We haven't had any issues with the viability or scalability. It's been good so far."
    • "As opposed to AWS, Azure is a costly solution. It's on par with AWS more than anything else."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our use case is for accessing central records and updating the backend system.

    What needs improvement?

    When you compare AWS to Azure adding on all the security components you require to protect your application and data AWS is by far the cheaper alternative, like the cost of Defender and ATPm, MCAS, ADFS, etc.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is good. We haven't had any issues with the viability or scalability. It's been good so far.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was straightforward. We have a business unit that specializes in this and they set it up from scratch.

    What other advice do I have?

    My only comment would be to look at your use case and just weigh up both AWS and Azure to see which one best suits your use case and your budget. If you go with Microsoft Azure and you use all the security tools and everything that Azure offers, it will be an expensive proposition. Whereas AWS gives you all the security tools but it's less expensive. They both offer a similar service. It's just the cost differential.

    I would rate it a nine out of ten. Not a perfect ten because of the price. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Private Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    Amazon Web Services (AWS)
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
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