Microsoft Azure vs Virtustream xStream comparison

Microsoft and Virtustream are both solutions in the Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4, while Virtustream is ranked #29. Microsoft holds a 9.9% mindshare in ISI, compared to Virtustream’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Virtustream users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure

Read 323 Microsoft Azure reviews

20,175 Views
10,895 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Virtustream xStream

Read 1 Virtustream xStream review

389 Views
377 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure

Virtustream xStream

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Azure and Virtustream xStream based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Akamai and others in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS).

To learn more, read our detailed Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)

March 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 885,264 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure

Ranking in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

323

Ranking in other categories

PaaS Clouds (1st)

Virtustream xStream

Ranking in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)

29th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure is 9.9%, down from 19.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Virtustream xStream is 0.6%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure	9.9%
Virtustream xStream	0.6%
Other	89.5%

Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)

Featured Reviews

Syed Abid

Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra

Versatile integrations and reliable customer satisfaction elevate cloud service experience

For Microsoft Azure improvement, they need to enhance their support system. The first level of support should be improved in terms of quality and response time. They need more technical support at the first level, as there are currently only one or two technical people among five to ten staff members at this level. They should ensure that the first level support is more technical because we normally provide services to technical users ourselves. When an issue arises, it usually escalates to the second or third level. When facing first level support, they may have limited knowledge and only collect screenshots to forward to their seniors. They should ensure that the first level support is aligned with L2 and L3 to better assist us, especially since we mention in the ticket that our issues are related to specific problems and require that sort of support.

Read full review

RONNIE HENRY

Business Systems Manager at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

Improves efficiencies, has encryption, and great mission-critical customer support

Previously we had an amateur solution where we were managing on our own data center but we had the management in-house. It was a strategic move to give people who were more competent and with business focus other core initiatives. It was a strategic outsource model. The equipment we were using was out date and at the end of its life cycle, we had to make some transitions, do a hardware replacement, or move on. We moved on to this solution.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Azure is good for monitoring for a small to mid-size organization."

"In terms of computer resource management and reduced cost, it is very, very effective. In large environments, it gives you a lot of flexibility to provide different services, like disaster recovery and business continuity with simple and great options because you don't have to spend a lot of time for maintenance, upgrades, and security."

"Active Directory is a good feature, and the infrastructure features that Azure provides are also good."

"It is quick and easy to deploy, it is flexible, and we can deploy a resource anytime."

"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."

"I have found Microsoft Azure to be stable. We have large corporate customers and it is working great."

"I think Azure's level of automation to achieve efficiency or agility is valuable. I also like the change capability cadence, the showback capabilities, and understanding what our costs are."

"Microsoft Azure is a very good product."

More Microsoft Azure pros

"Once we made the move to this solution, we received efficiencies, 100%, 200%, even up to 1000%, depending on some processes."

"The solution has encryption which we did not have before."

Cons

"The primary support needs to be improved."

"Integration with other services could be much better."

"There is a need to be better on-premise solutions that are more helpful. However, I don't think that is the goal of Microsoft Azure. They want the solution to be secure cloud solutions with cloud applications. This is their main goal at the moment."

"The solution could be easier to use. However, when comparing it to AWS it is a bit easier."

"The pricing of the solution could be reduced."

"For some use cases, Microsoft Azure is okay and working, but it is lacking features and we cannot implement it fully."

"We would like it to be cheaper. As a customer, we always want to pay less."

"From a security perspective, there is always something that can be improved as we serve our customers."

More Microsoft Azure cons

"Our account representative was inexperienced, they could improve on how they are managing accounts."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is cheap."

"If you are not aware of costs, pricing, etc., you can end up with a hefty bill. However, I found that the Azure price calculator is a valuable tool to use before starting to deploy VMs in Azure. This tool will give you an overview of the costs you should expect on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"The pricing is relatively high."

"I am currently on a pay-as-you-go subscription and my customers are going to be on a three-year contract. For what is offered in the three-year package it is quite reasonably priced."

"Licensing costs for Enterprise are on an annual basis."

"It is important to consider ROI when looking at the cost of a subscription."

"Its price should be optimized so that we can use more features."

More Microsoft Azure pricing and cost advice

"The solution is a bit expensive, we are still negotiating the price."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Comparison Review

it_user8586

Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

Aug 14, 2013

Amazon vs Rackspace vs Microsoft vs Google: Cloud Hosting Services Comparison

Amazon Web Services, Rackspace OpenStack, Microsoft Windows Azure and Google are the major cloud hosting and storage service providers. Athough Amazon is top of them and is oldest in cloud market, Rackspace, Microsoft and Google are giving tough competition to each other and to Amazon also for…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

University

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	140
Midsize Enterprise	54
Large Enterprise	149

No data available

Questions from the Community

Which is preferable - IBM Public Cloud or Microsoft Azure?

IBM Public Cloud is IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service. It aims to provide organizations with a secure cloud environment to manage data and applications. One of the features we like is the cloud activity ...

See all answers

Which is better - SAP Cloud Platform or Microsoft Azure?

One of the best features of SAP Cloud Platform is that it is web-based and you can log in from anywhere in the world. SAP Cloud Platform is suitable for companies of any size; it works well with bo...

See all answers

How does Microsoft Azure compare to Google Firebase?

I would recommend Google Firebase instead of Microsoft Azure, simply for the array of features that it has to offer. In particular, the Firebase library grants you access to a shared data structure...

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

Amazon AWS vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 9% of the time

Alibaba Cloud vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 8% of the time

Google Firebase vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 8% of the time

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 8% of the time

Pivotal Cloud Foundry vs Microsoft Azure

Compared 6% of the time

More Microsoft Azure Competitors

Amazon AWS vs Virtustream xStream

Compared 29% of the time

CloudSimple vs Virtustream xStream

Compared 19% of the time

SAP S4HANA on AWS vs Virtustream xStream

Compared 17% of the time

More Virtustream xStream Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure

March 2026

Download Microsoft Azure product report

Buyer's Guide

Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)

March 2026

Download Virtustream xStream product report

Also Known As

Windows Azure, Azure, MS Azure

No data available

Overview

Microsoft Azure integrates services and offers flexibility, ensuring compatibility with diverse environments. Its scalability, security, and cost-efficient features enhance deployment and management, making it ideal for infrastructure services and application hosting.

Azure provides a comprehensive suite of tools for application deployment, virtual machine management, and data analytics. It allows seamless integration with Power BI and offers a user-friendly interface supported by detailed documentation and technical support. Though users appreciate its capabilities, they sometimes face challenges with costs, setup, and interface complexity, alongside integration and performance issues. Frequent updates and a learning curve are also noted, though Azure's cloud-based security and scalability remain critical for disaster recovery and business continuity.

What are Azure's key features?

Integrated Services: Ensures compatibility with Microsoft and non-Microsoft environments.
Scalability: Supports growing business demands with flexible computing power.
Security: Offers robust cloud-based security features for data protection.
Cost Efficiency: Provides options that optimize costs for diverse requirements.
Application Deployment: Facilitates quick rollout of apps and services.

What benefits should users expect from Azure?

Operational Optimization: Allows companies to streamline processes effectively.
Innovative Efficiency: Empowers businesses to innovate with powerful tools.
Reliable Support: Backed by strong technical support and comprehensive documentation.
Flexible Cloud Solutions: Offers a range of options for cloud migrations and infrastructure management.

Microsoft Azure is widely implemented in industries like financial services, healthcare, and logistics for hosting enterprise applications and vital services. Companies utilize its capabilities for IoT applications, DevOps, and Kubernetes clusters, benefiting from its cloud migrations, data analytics, and active directory support.

Microsoft

Virtustream's xStream Management Platform provides a unified, cloudagnostic control plane that integrates infrastructure orchestration, enterprise application automation and a suite of business intelligence and service management tools.

Virtustream

Sample Customers

BMW, Toyota, easyJet, NBC Sports, HarperCollins, Aviva, TalkTalk Business, Avanade, and Telenor.

Continental, Domino Foods, Florida Crystals, Intel, Lanx, UOL Group

Buyer's Guide

Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)

March 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Akamai and others in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS). Updated: March 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) vendors.

We monitor all Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.