We are customers of Microsoft and I'm the IT technical manager.
IT Technical Manager
Technical simplicity in terms of implementation; flexible and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Provides a high level of availability and 99% uptime."
- "Lacks flexibility in terms of storage or resource allocation."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature for me is the high level of availability and the 99% uptime of the system. I also appreciate the technical simplicity of the system in terms of implementation.
What needs improvement?
I'm currently based in the Philippines and the availability of services locally could be improved. Technically speaking, I'd like to see more flexibility in terms of storage or resource allocation. Resourcing is currently quite fixed so that if you want to move between level two and level three resources, or customize resources, you can't do that. The discrepancy in terms of costing is around $200. If they improved flexibility for selecting resources it would be easier for us to get the costing approved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for around two years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable, one of the most reliable in the Philippines. The downside is that currently all the services are outside the country. Singapore and Hong Kong provide the closest service but we have laws that prohibit certain amounts of data residing in other countries. None of that affects stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
One of the key takes from using cloud services is scalability and flexibility. If a company hits some roadblocks financially, they can reduce infrastructure and also reduce what they use in the cloud lowering the cost.
How are customer service and support?
I've had several outages or major issues and I've had good experience with technical support. They resolved the problems in less than a day. The only downside is that in the Philippines you're dealing with the vendor and not Microsoft direct. I have two steps of support; if the vendor can't provide the support, then they escalate to Microsoft.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is quite simple. We currently have 20 users on the infrastructure side in addition to 20+ developers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have difficulty in getting the costing approved. We pay for a virtual machine and the resources currently implemented there, then we need a license from Microsoft Windows OS and the database itself. In our latest license purchase, the manager approved a monthly fee of around $2,000 for the resources we use. If you're going to the cloud, that's currently included in the cost and will be less if you have the software assurance from Microsoft; on-prem is more expensive.
What other advice do I have?
The big takeaway on this product is the high availability of the system on cloud and reduction of on-prem costing. There are no concerns about the electrical doing some redundancy in between, cooling, purchasing, procurement of IT equipment. Instead of budgeting based on CAPEX, we're doing it from an OPEX point of view. One of the key takes for moving to the cloud is the cost. You can leverage with the cloud and let go of some things required to maintain a system on-prem, the kinds of things that alleviate some complexity in doing maintenance of the system. The solution is suitable for any size company.
I highly recommend Microsoft Azure. Everyone knows Microsoft so the learning curve is easier. I rate the solution nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Team Lead, Enterprise Computing Platforms at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
A reliable solution for migration and disaster recovery strategy
Pros and Cons
- "It's been pretty useful in terms of migration and disaster recovery strategy."
- "Microsoft's technical support could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
Within my company, there are roughly 150 employees using this solution. We need about 30-35 people for maintenance.
What is most valuable?
It's been pretty useful in terms of migration and disaster recovery strategy.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft Azure for roughly four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is quite stable. We haven't had any issues stability-wise.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is good. I would rate it high, scalability-wise.
How are customer service and technical support?
Microsoft's technical support could be improved.
There are certain areas on the Level 1 to Level 2 support-side that are not exactly great. We have issues with our Linux operating system. I don't think we've had delays as such but I would say that's one area there might be some scope for improvement.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I personally used to work with AWS, but that was at another company.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was fairly easy. Pretty much all the services are easy to deploy — not very complicated as such.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost could definitely be lower.
What other advice do I have?
You have to look out for the external storage costs — it can be a bit of a surprise. You have to do your budgeting. We didn't really anticipate that the storage expenses would be so much higher than anything else. That's something people have to budget and account for before they migrate to the cloud.
Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this soluting a rating of eight.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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December 2024

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Information security consultant at Ypsilon System
Helps to deploy web servers but navigation needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Azure has proven to be beneficial for our organization due to its quick deployment capabilities. Setting up virtual machines or any required infrastructure is fast."
- "The tool needs to improve its navigation."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution to set up access to process queuing, configure virtual instances, obtain a domain name, acquire the necessary certificates, and deploy the web server to the internet.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Azure has proven to be beneficial for our organization due to its quick deployment capabilities. Setting up virtual machines or any required infrastructure is fast.
What needs improvement?
The tool needs to improve its navigation.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for two to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure's stability depends on the resources allocated. If you provision sufficient resources, it tends to be stable. However, choosing lower resources, like two gigs of RAM and CPUs, might lead to less stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is scalable. My company has five users.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't contacted the technical team yet.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft Azure's deployment is straightforward for me, given my experience and understanding of the Azure system. It is not difficult for me to handle.
What about the implementation team?
The tool's deployment was done in-house.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the product an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Executive Head of Technology at Imbali Customised Solutions (Pty) Ltd.
Used for the hosting of websites and the management of email and the Outlook platform
Pros and Cons
- "The most efficient feature of Microsoft Azure is that we can use it to update a website with a few clicks."
- "The solution's email hosting pricing could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Azure for the hosting of websites and the management of email and the Outlook platform. We also use the solution for the storage of online files.
What is most valuable?
The most efficient feature of Microsoft Azure is that we can use it to update a website with a few clicks. Microsoft Azure is integrated with Visual Studio Code, and we can update or publish directly from Visual Studio Code.
I appreciate the GDPR that is in place with Microsoft Azure. The solution also has compliance with other country's local privacy laws. So, the privacy feature of Microsoft products is very easily accessible and available.
What needs improvement?
The solution's email hosting pricing could be improved. Microsoft Azure gives different options in terms of how you're going to access your email. It would be good if the solution could improve and give cheaper emails that can work in Outlook.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure is a very stable solution, and I've never had any issues with the solution's stability.
I rate the solution ten out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Around 30 clients are using Microsoft Azure.
I rate the solution ten out of ten for scalability.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used Amazon Web Services. I switched to Microsoft Azure because Amazon Web Services was expensive.
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup is straightforward, especially with the SSL. Getting the SSL certificate is more straightforward with Microsoft Azure than with Amazon Web Services.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented the solution through an in-house team.
The solution can be deployed in five to ten minutes. You have to ensure that your Visual Studio Code is set up with the required tools for Microsoft Azure. From there on, you continue uploading to Microsoft Azure the files that you want to upload. Then, you set up your Azure to identify the domains and to sync Azure with your domain host. These are the steps you have to take. If you follow it step by step, the full process will not take longer than 30 minutes.
What other advice do I have?
The website is straightforward to configure, and also very quick to update. In other words, I can update a website even from my development tool, Visual Studio Code. I use Visual Studio Code in my company to develop websites and also to deploy the websites from Visual Studio Code. So, that makes Azure completely above what I've experienced with Amazon Web Services.
Microsoft Azure is deployed on the cloud in our organization. One to five people with knowledge of Microsoft Azure, Visual Studio Code, and domain hosting are needed for the solution's deployment and maintenance. I would recommend the solution to other users.
Users need to understand what they want to deploy and what cloud services they need to use because there are different trends in each one of these cloud services. Users can go multi-cloud as well.
Microsoft Azure helps save infrastructure, staff, time, and insurance. You'll save a lot on ISO certification. I had a client who wanted a solution that would have required the client to be ISO-certified to manage the privacy or guarantee the privacy and security of data.
Overall, I rate Microsoft Azure an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Co-owner at Min shan saw
Can be used for operations, email, and office applications
Pros and Cons
- "We use Microsoft Azure for operations, email, and office applications."
- "The solution’s learning curve could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
Our people are familiar with Microsoft Azure, and we use it for our day-to-day operations.
What is most valuable?
We use Microsoft Azure for operations, email, and office applications.
What needs improvement?
The solution’s learning curve could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure for two to three years.
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?
Around nine people use the solution in our organization.
How are customer service and support?
We contact our local partners so that they can help us with our issues. For some difficulties, we try forums and open support. We don't contact enterprise support because we don't have it.
How was the initial setup?
The solution’s initial setup is very straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented Microsoft Azure through an in-house team consisting of two to three people. The solution’s deployment takes a few weeks.
What other advice do I have?
Microsoft Azure is deployed on the cloud in our organization.
Overall, I rate the solution a seven or eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Principal Consultant Data & Analytics Strategy at INFOMOTION GmbH
More intuitive and easier to handle compared to other cloud platforms
Pros and Cons
- "I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, with ten being easy."
- "With a Synapse environment, we might need to switch to Databricks for better scalability."
What is most valuable?
Compared to other cloud platforms, I find the Azure portal very user-friendly. It's more intuitive and clearer than some, but it depends on your specific needs because Azure offers many services.
For instance, working with Synapse, a complex technology with diverse processing engines, requires deep knowledge. In our experience with clients, using Databricks, a third-party service, on top of Azure can be helpful.
What needs improvement?
There's an ongoing development, particularly concerning the Data Fabric offering launched a few months ago.
Data Fabric is an additional offering which is Software as a service "as a service" application, unlike the core Azure platform initially focused on "platform as a service." It sits on top of Azure.
We thought Azure could be more flexible and cost-effective, but our experience suggests this separation might simplify things for some customers. It's worth exploring as a potential improvement for specific needs.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for several years. We have used it, or we have architectures. We consult about Azure.
We do a lot here in this area because it's also a big topic for us. But it's a more general consulting topic for me. I have some experience with it, but I do not implement it. Internally, we use some Azure services.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have all kinds of typically, ranging more towards larger size customers, midsized customers, and a lot in the financial area.
For example, with a Synapse environment, we might need to switch to Databricks for better scalability. But overall, the platform itself scales very well. Based on my experience, I'd give it an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Azure is the best in Germany compared to AWS or Google. It has the best German footprint, so the support is better locally.
But globally, it's good, not always the best. Some users have very good experiences with Google's support as well.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
From the consulting perspective, we consult on every technology on the market. For example, Snowflake is a big topic on our side.
I have a lot of history in SAP. With current or former SAP solutions.
In our company, we are more Microsoft-based and Microsoft CRM.
How was the initial setup?
The technical part of setting up such a platform is typically the smaller part. And for an experienced consultant, it's okay. It's nothing special. It's more about the processes and organization, which is important to consider here.
So, I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, with ten being easy.
Typically, in Germany, we see that setting up is very complex; enterprises work well with Azure setups if users are already experienced at different points with Azure. But it's a little bit more easy compared to Google or Amazon. But it depends a little bit on the service and the environment you need.
From a technical perspective, it can set up something in a day or in some hours. That's not a problem.
The thing is more the organizational level here, what is allowed, who can do it, where the costs are going, and so on. The process is typically much more about the deployment or, depending on whether you have already built a platform and just have to automate the deployment process.
For example, it works very well, typically, but the initial setup of a platform is more for organizational things, but this is not what I do.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
IT manager at Electrolux Home Products
Maintains the infrastructure so we don't have to
Pros and Cons
- "Azure is very flexible."
- "Any time you use a cloud service, there are increased security risks. If you want more security, you have to have private hosting."
What is our primary use case?
The use case for Azure is maintenance. Azure maintains the infrastructure so we don't have to, and that's the best use case for any cloud-based application.
What is most valuable?
Azure is very flexible.
What needs improvement?
Any time you use a cloud service, there are increased security risks. If you want more security, you have to have private hosting.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Azure for about five or six years.
How are customer service and support?
In general, I think Microsoft support is strong.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Azure could be cheaper. Of course, if you ask anyone, they'll always say it could be cheaper. We are paying monthly.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Azure nine out of 10. I would recommend it to others.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Engineer at United Nations
Responsive technical support, scales applications well, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "One of the features I have found to be valuable is the scale set feature."
- "There needs to be better data security. There are organizations that do not want their data to be submitted to Microsoft, they should have strong encryption."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for multi-factor authentification while sorting out the identities. We want to use this solution for as many applications for the authentification process.
What is most valuable?
One of the features I have found to be valuable is the scale set feature. We have been able to get good results scaling up and down our applications. Additionally, the dashboard is fuctional.
What needs improvement?
There needs to be better data security. There are organizations that do not want their data to be submitted to Microsoft, they should have strong encryption.
In the future, Microsoft should increase its data center percentage in Africa.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has been stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found the scalability of the solution to be good. We have approximately 4,000 people using the solution in my organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
If we are having a hard time finding a solution to an issue the technical support has been very quick to respond.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward for me since I have done it before, for people new to installing it could experience some difficulty.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution does not offer very many free services which can become expensive. We are on an annual license.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Microsoft Azure an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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