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reviewer1598556 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Good performance with a straightforward setup and the capability to scale
Pros and Cons
  • "The stability is very good. The performance is excellent."
  • "The cost of the product is too high. It would be ideal if they could lower it a bit for their customers."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution in our lab. We use it for critical services for the most part.

What is most valuable?

The solution is very scalable. 

The stability is very good. The performance is excellent.

 We found the installation to be very easy and straightforward.

What needs improvement?

The cost of the product is too high. It would be ideal if they could lower it a bit for their customers.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about two to three years or so. It's been a while. 

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is very good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. Its performance is reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the solution is very good. A company can expand it if it needs to.

We have six users on the solution currently. We have one project manager and five general users.

How are customer service and support?

I can't speak to the technical support services or Microsoft. I can't say that I have used them.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not overly complex or difficult. It's very simple. It's quite straightforward.

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

The solution is too expensive. They need to work on the pricing.

I can't speak to the exact cost our company pays in order to use Azure.

What other advice do I have?

As it's a cloud-based solution, we're always on the latest version. it automatically self-updates.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We've mostly been quite happy with the capability of the solution.

I'd recommend the solution to other users and other organizations.

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?

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Enrico Boseli - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 10Leaderboard
Very scalable, easy to use, and provides a great ROI, but needs better pricing model, better support, and a cybersecurity feature
Pros and Cons
  • "It is really scalable and easy to use."
  • "They should include a cybersecurity feature to improve the protection of the systems. They could do better in terms of the pricing model. Its price keeps on changing. Their technical support can also be better."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for cloud adoption for medium and large companies. We are using its latest version.

What is most valuable?

It is really scalable and easy to use.

What needs improvement?

They should include a cybersecurity feature to improve the protection of the systems.

They could do better in terms of the pricing model. Its price keeps on changing. Their technical support can also be better. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for a couple of years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable, and it works. It is not the best public cloud in terms of technology, but it does its job, and it does it well.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is really scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is fair. It is something they can improve.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup is very easy.

What was our ROI?

It provides a great ROI.

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

Its pricing model can be improved. It is variable, and if you do a simulation now, within a few months, the price can change, and your simulation would no longer be valid.

What other advice do I have?

It is great for a new workload and if you are starting with new systems.

I would rate Microsoft Azure 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: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Microsoft Azure
December 2024
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Technical Lead at FD
MSP
Frequently updated enhancements, easy to use, and reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of the solution are ease of use and the enhancements are continually being updated."
  • "There could be more documentation and video tutorials to incorporate each and every feature. This way one can easily get the knowledge and implement it."

What is our primary use case?

We are using this solution for multiple purposes. For example, for a chatbot and for multiple authentications for service technologies we are developing.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of the solution are ease of use and the enhancements are continually being updated.

What needs improvement?

There could be more documentation and video tutorials to incorporate each and every feature. This way one can easily get the knowledge and implement it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for approximately three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately 40 developers using the solution in my organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is good. 

How was the initial setup?

The installation is straightforward.

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

There is a license for the solution.

What other advice do I have?

We plan to continue using the solution in the future and I recommend it to others.

I rate Microsoft Azure an eight out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
CEO at CLIFURVA
Reseller
Very stable infrastructure as a service with good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is very stable for Windows setups."
  • "The pricing needs to be a bit lower. It's an expensive solution right now."

What is our primary use case?

Right now we're designing our desktop solutions. I need, for example, to use a virtual desktop and I need to use infrastructure as a service. I am looking for other infrastructure as a service solutions as well,

What is most valuable?

We really like the infrastructure as a service and the data center as a service solution functionality. 

The backup data center and the business compute solutions for Azure are good. There are a lot of good hybrid solutions with onsite and cloud solutions.

The solution is very easy to set up.

The solution is very stable for Windows setups.

The technical support on offer has been very good.

What needs improvement?

The pricing needs to be a bit lower. It's an expensive solution right now.

In future releases, I would like to see Microsoft offer personal desktop environments in a virtual solution. Citrix, for example, now offers this as an option.

For how long have I used the solution?

I only have some limited experience with the product. I've only been using it for about six months or so. It hasn't been that long.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

For the most part, the solution is stable. It's great with the Windows solution, however, with Linux and other operating systems, I hope that it's okay. I don't know for certain. I've never tried it with others. For Windows, it is very good. When the customer has all-Windows solutions everything is okay. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The companies we usually sell to are typically medium-sized. When it comes to scaling, the cloud solution is an elastic solution. I can scale it well. The customer can go up however high they want to go. The solution allows for that flexibility. It's easy to expand with the solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've reached out to technical support in the past. I understand that if I need them I can easily reach them. They are available and responsive. I'd say we are satisfied with our solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not difficult or complex. It's pretty straightforward. It's easy. A company shouldn't have any issue with the process.

We sell the solution to our clients and it takes six months to one year to deploy it.

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

We would like to see Microsoft lower its prices a bit for their customers. It's a costly solution.

What other advice do I have?

I'm a Microsoft reseller.

I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using.

While we are currently using the on-premises deployment model, we are considering moving to the cloud.

I'd recommend the solution to other users and organizations. I'm already recommending it to various clients as a potential solution for them.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We're quite satisfied with the solution.

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: Reseller
PeerSpot user
reviewer1548732 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Flexible, scalable and has very good performance
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has proven to be quite stable so far."
  • "The solution needs to offer more data analysis services."

What is our primary use case?

It's primarily used for access to the cloud or the virtual machines and to have a cloud-based solution that can handle tasks such as data processing, or for having data storage, and all types of other things.

What is most valuable?

The product is very flexible.

The performance overall is great.

It's a great advantage for a company to be on the cloud. It gives a company nice advantages.

The solution has proven to be quite stable so far.

The solution has been scalable.

There are no new releases per se; the solution simply adds on more services over time. 

What needs improvement?

The solution needs to offer more data analysis services. It would be extremely helpful to Azure's clients if they had more of this.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about a year or so. I believe it's been around 12 months. It hasn't been that long.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution has been very good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

So far, we've found the scalability to be pretty good. If a company needs to expand, it can do so with ease.

We have about five people working directly on the solution currently.

How are customer service and technical support?

We haven't really dealt with technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are. I've never had any direct interactions with them personally.

How was the initial setup?

There isn't really an initial setup. It's on the cloud. You don't really have to deploy anything or set anything up.

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

Our customers don't have to pay any licensing fees in order to use Azure.

What other advice do I have?

As we are on the cloud deployment model, we're always on the latest version of the solution. It is always automatically updated for us.

Overall, I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We've been pretty happy with its capabilities so far.

In general, I would recommend the solution to other organizations.

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
PeerSpot user
reviewer1006845 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Network & Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Reseller
A solid cloud-based platform with fair licensing
Pros and Cons
  • "We didn't have any problems setting it up."
  • "A problem with Azure is that the architecture that they have is not really compliant — not really connecting with the endpoint Cloud."

What is our primary use case?

Within our company, there are around 150 employees using this solution. We have a technical team of about five or six people. 

What is most valuable?

I like that it's cloud-based and it's 24/7, theoretically. I am also happy with the licensing fees. It's quite competitive in the market. They sell Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and level 5 licenses, and one of them is compatible with PowerPoint. The licensing fee is quite cheap for what they're offering.

What needs improvement?

A few different vendors from Fortinet, from Barracuda, from Forcepoint, all use infrastructure from Azure from time to time. A problem with Azure is that the architecture that they have is not really compliant — not really connecting with the endpoint Cloud. It's a different type of architecture, so that's a mistake from Microsoft. Hopefully, they will fix it soon.

It could be more secure actually. Microsoft Defender is not very secure. The platform is also a bit slow, to be honest. It takes a few seconds to load. Although, it does update quickly now. It's one-click — Microsoft takes four seconds and Google takes two and a half. It's minimal.

Better integration with other vendors and third-party systems would be a nice change.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Azure for roughly five or six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Azure is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft Azure is cloud-based, so it's definitely scalable. 

How was the initial setup?

We didn't have any problems setting it up.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give Microsoft Azure a rating of eight. It's a good product. It does have a few flaws but it's solid. 

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 has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer956922 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Architecture - Digital at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Time to market is fast compared back to the traditional on-premise hosting but it needs to mature
Pros and Cons
  • "The time to market is fast compared back to the traditional on-premise hosting. That is one of the better things I can say because there is no need to worry. The Pack services will enable it to start immediately."
  • "There were also a lot of constraints with the serverless parts."

How has it helped my organization?

The time to market is fast compared back to the traditional on-premise hosting. That is one of the better things I can say because there is no need to worry. The Pack services will enable it to start immediately. 

What is most valuable?

I think Azure is good. We're exploring the Cosmos DB for the dealer distribution, which is in a project phase. We are happy with their services. 

What needs improvement?

They should enable more other products to enable other commercial products as a Pack services, from the database side, more from the security perspective. Some of the databases don't have the features that Azure SQL has. Those parts have to enabled.

There were also a lot of constraints with the serverless parts. They are far behind compared to AWS.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Azure for the last three years. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is a bit clumsy. Their time to respond is not that much great.

How was the initial setup?

In terms of the UCs, they are very cumbersome. It's not very user friendly.

Each deployment takes around ten minutes. We do around 300 a day.

What other advice do I have?

If you look at it from the cloud product perspective, AWS is first. There is no doubt about it, and Azure is in the second position, and Google is the third.

Serverless is something that Microsoft needs to focus on, it is not so mature. That would be a game-changer.

I would rate it a seven out of ten. Not a ten because they need to improve in terms of maturity, flexibility, and user experience. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
President and Founder with 51-200 employees
Vendor
It has long-term value when you consider cost-benefit analyses (with Microsoft's pricing calculator), but it's difficult to know exactly what the costs would be for services running on Azure.

Originally posted at http://jimwilsonblog.com/?p=250

A recent article of an interview with the Red Hat CEO touts the benefits of private cloud implementation. See it here.

This debate is usually short sited and doesn’t include all CAPEX & OPEX cost associated with the “Free OS” type of cloud operations. Also, the reusable components from more sophisticated partner communities afford both AWS & AZURE much greater long term valuations when responsible enterprise accounting methods are used to drive the cost-benefits analyses. The proper engineering of a cloud infrastructure which includes smart VMs well orchestrated by business-demand-level-driven auto scaling will always push the TCO/ROI argument to a public solution for large scale systems.

Microsoft actually has a TCO tool that they can use to estimate TCO of on-premises vs. Azure. There are many considerations when comparing costs of running an on-premises datacenter with full infrastructure, servers, cooling, power, etc. to a cloud-based service like Azure where you pay a cost based on the services consumed such as storage, compute and network egress. It can be difficult to know exactly what typical costs are for your datacenter and what the costs would be for services running in Azure. Microsoft has a pricing calculator available at http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/ which can help assess costs for Azure services and a VM specific calculator at http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/virtual-machines/.

When running on-premises, you own the servers. They are available all the time which means you typically leave workloads running constantly even though they may actually only be needed during the work week. There is really no additional cost to leave them running (apart from power, cooling, etc.). In the cloud you pay based on consumption which means organizations go through a paradigm shift. Rather than leaving VMs and services running all the time, companies focus on running services when needed to optimize their public cloud spend. Some ways that can help optimize services running are:

  • Auto-scale – The ability to group multiple instances of a VM/service and instances are started and stopped based on various usage metrics such as CPU and queue depth. With PaaS instances can even be created/destroyed as required
  • Azure Automation – The ability to run PowerShell Workflows in Azure and templates are provided to start and stop services at certain times of day making it easy to stop services at the end of the day then start them again at the start of day
  • Local Automation – Use an on-premises solution such as PowerShell or System Center Orchestrator to connect to Azure via REST to stop/start services
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user255330 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user255330Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant

"Free OS". Please check Jim's pricelist. RHEL, RedHat's openstack etc: It is certainly not for free.

Statements like :
short sited (I assume that should read short sighted),
more sophisticated,
much greater longer term valuation,
responsible enterprise accounting methods......

are not documented in any way. I think the author should have a deepdive in things like cloudfoundry, openshift, WSO2, openstack and the likes before using these kind of terms. Or not write about this matter at all. Or at least try to launch a VM named "testwin" in Azure. ;-)

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Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Azure Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.