Microsoft Azure Reviews and Pricing

reviewer3261598

Business Solutions Specialist at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

Mar 3, 2025

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Pros and Cons

"Microsoft Azure provides a valuable Data Factory, particularly for analytics."

"Many features are specific to Azure cloud, creating a vendor lock-in."

What is our primary use case?

We have various dashboards built for different subject areas using Microsoft Power BI. These are built to meet specific user requirements for dashboards, reporting, and analytics, including predictive analytics. The data is populated in the cloud using Microsoft integration services and Data Factory.

What is most valuable?

Microsoft Azure provides a valuable Data Factory, particularly for analytics. The product is powerful for integration and data loading. Power BI, another feature of Azure, is extremely elegant and has robust features that support forecasting using R and Python. Azure's ecosystem promotes integration across various products, making it a comprehensive solution for data and analytics.

What needs improvement?

Many features are specific to Azure cloud, creating a vendor lock-in. Moving solutions back on-premises may not be possible. Some features available on Azure cloud are not present on-premises, which can limit hybrid deployments. Recent outages and security issues are also a concern, causing a decrease in confidence, especially when partnering with third-party companies.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Azure for less than three years.

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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

I find the setup to be very simple and easy to use.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Azure is quite stable, but recent outages and security issues have slightly decreased my confidence. I have not personally faced any major issues, but the security part needs more focus.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability with Microsoft Azure is amazing, which is a primary reason for using cloud solutions.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is very simple and user-friendly.

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

Pricing varies on a case-to-case basis. Microsoft solutions might be cheaper than some services like AWS, but some solutions may be more expensive depending on the services compared.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I evaluated Cloudera as well. While Microsoft Azure offers easier and faster rollout of solutions, Cloudera provides a flexible hybrid environment with no vendor lock-ins, which can be an advantage.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Microsoft Azure a nine out of ten overall. It is a very well-done and elegant platform, but the security issues slightly lower my rating.

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.

Last updated: Mar 3, 2025