We are a software development company and the primary use case of this solution is to create applications for our customers using the MSDN premium.
Easy to use, stable, and the technical support is good
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure is that it is easy to use."
- "The pricing can be reduced."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure is that it is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The pricing can be reduced.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for between three and five years.
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Microsoft Azure
December 2024

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure is stable and I haven't noticed any issues with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable solution.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing for us is higher because we are using IaaS.
What other advice do I have?
Depending on the project requirements, I would recommend using Azure.
I would rate this solution a ten 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.
Owner with 51-200 employees
Implementation is simple but anything to do with referencing other packages is simply frustrating
What is most valuable?
The ability to kick start a new web application or website and having them up and running in matter of minutes still amazes me.
How has it helped my organization?
Deploying new release for existing web applications has now become a matter of right clicking the name of the project and clicking ‘publish’, the same activity before might have been done in hours to days – depending on the complexity for the app.
What needs improvement?
Anything to do with referencing other packages is simply frustrating, this is mostly a problem with the Windows framework and not the hosting service, but it is still the most time consuming and irritating thing about using ASP.NET
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Yes, well back in the days we used to install physical servers, then we went to manually virtual servers, that to hosted virtual server, then to Amazon machines and now switched to Windows Azure.
How was the initial setup?
As simple as can be.
What about the implementation team?
We do all technical work in house and with Azure there was really no need for external assistance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When starting out I became member of the BizSpark program so the initial cost was 0 (FREE!), on customer’s projects the cost can go from $50 to $200 per month which is really cost effective for them.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes for every project we will compare Azure with Amazon, with virtual servers with a physical server. But in almost every case choosing Azure will be a no brainer.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure
December 2024

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
842,690 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Owner with 51-200 employees
Secure your ASMX WebServices with SWT and Claims
I was recently involved into interesting project, that was using the plain old ASMX web services. We wanted to migrate it to the Windows Azure Access Control Service and make use of Claims.
The way we achieved that is to add additional Soap Header to the client requests that includes Simple Web Token (SWT). On the server side, we make a check for this specific header existence, then extract the token, perform some validation checks and inject a fresh new Claims Identity into the Service instance. One thing to look out for is that you have to think of a workaround, if your ASMX WebService is a Singleton object. My implementation works with non-singleton implementations. And I currently get my Simple Web Tokens from Windows Azure Access Control Service’s WRAP endpoint. I have configured a “Password” service identities and I play with the RuleGroups to add additional claims, based on identity used. It is pretty flexible!
The result is on … GitHub. I initially wanted to be on CodePlex, because I have other projects there and am more used to TFS style of working. But CodePlex’s TFS is down for quite some time, which was a good excuse to use GitHub. There is some explanations in the Readme.txt file, as well as comments in the code. So feel free to get the code, play around with it, ping me if it is not working for some reason, and so on!
The project makes extensive use of SWT Implementation, done by the Two10Degrees’ team. But I added a compiled assembly reference for convenience.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Owner at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Easy to connect to on-premise infrastructure, but deprovisioning services is complicated and SLA is not competitive
Valuable Features:
SSO access
Easy connect to On-Prem infrastructure
GA of new features, such as Azure Backup and Mobile services, free websites and easy to manage pay-as-you-go model.
Room for Improvement:
Deprovisioning services is complicated. SLA is not competitive. While some prices have been lowered, some increased after GA. Options from beta moved to different categories.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Project Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Advantageous UX that could use an enhanced integration pipeline
Pros and Cons
- "The Azure Portal has an advantage in terms of UX making buying resources or downgrading is really easier to understand. AWS has micro, smaller functionalities whereas Azure has more end-to-end focus which makes it easier saving you time and money."
- "The integration pipeline could be a bit more broad in terms of applications."
What is our primary use case?
We, as consultants of Azure, have used the SQL storage accounts, Databricks for computing models, and Data Factory for ETLs.
What is most valuable?
The Azure Portal has an advantage in terms of UX making buying resources or downgrading is really easier to understand. AWS has micro, smaller functionalities whereas Azure has more end-to-end focus which makes it easier saving you time and money.
What needs improvement?
The integration pipeline could be a bit more broad in terms of applications.
Additionally, some companies require third parties to develop on their cloud. it would be interesting to see if it would be possible to provide another company with restricted access to their analytical tech stack.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution for the past three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There is potential for scalability but that becomes more complex the more packaged the product is.
How are customer service and support?
I have never used support personally but I have heard that it is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward - one fifth of the work in comparison to AWS. It took about three months in total.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Process Manager at a marketing services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Flexible, easy to use, and good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to use and flexible."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Microsoft Azure for test case management and automation code repositories.
What is most valuable?
The solution is easy to use and flexible.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure for approximately one year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 300 users using the solutions in my organization.
How are customer service and support?
The Microsoft technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft Azure's initial setup is simple.
What about the implementation team?
We use the help of our organization's system administrator. The solution does not require much maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The license cost could be reduced.
What other advice do I have?
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.
cloud solution architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reliable, scalable, and has good support
Pros and Cons
- "I like the familiarity of this solution."
- "The initial setup could be simplified."
What is our primary use case?
We are CSP distributors. We are indirect resellers.
What is most valuable?
I like the familiarity of this solution.
What needs improvement?
No product is perfect, there is always room for improvement.
The solution to the market and the guidance for the customer should be streamlined.
From a customer perspective, it can be complex. It's a bit abstract for the customer.
They need to provide comprehensive and easy-to-understand guidelines for the customers to implement.
The initial setup could be simplified.
The customization could be improved.
I would like things to be easy for the customers and partners.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure for five years. I am a Microsoft engineer. It was my first job, and I have used it throughout the years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Azure is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a very scalable product.
How are customer service and technical support?
We like the technical support.
How was the initial setup?
It can be complex when you deploy it on your own.
I have studied it, for me it was easy, but for our customers, it could be simplified. We want to make their lives easier.
What about the implementation team?
Customers will need the help of an integrator or consultant.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Customers need to purchase additional services because of the complexity of it.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I would rate Microsoft Azure a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
ICT Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Easy to manage, good performance, and secure
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to manage within the cloud application, has good performance, and is secure."
- "The solution could improve by being more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Azure is an directory and identity management solution in the cloud, similar to an access gateway.
How has it helped my organization?
It has enable me to secure our office 365 tenant
What is most valuable?
Multifactor authentication, cloud App security. The features are easy to manage within the cloud application, has good performance, and is secure.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by being more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
very good
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support has been responsive but sometimes the agent does not have the knowledge required for the proper immediate assistance.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
we are previously using Hosted Exchange. We migrated in other to take advantage of rich collaborative features of o365
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was straightforward. Migration managed with out issue
What about the implementation team?
In -house
What was our ROI?
95%
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are on an annual subscription. However, there are other options available.
What other advice do I have?
The smooth operation of the solution depends on the ability of the administrator. How the infrastructure is deployed overall and how it is optimized.
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?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: December 2024
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