Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Akamai and others in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS).
The value for money is good, and Microsoft Azure has positively impacted our operational costs.
When we use Microsoft Azure, it provides enhanced security from our perspective, though I am not certain about the financial return on investment or benefits for our users as I do not have that information.
On a very good implementation, usually, if the scale of the business is large, the implementation can give a payback within six, seven, or eight months of implementation.
Although our investment was higher compared to the previous ERP system, we are able to derive ROI from SAP S4HANA on AWS.
DigitalOcean support is rated lower than AWS's because we encounter issues more frequently.
Microsoft needs to engage L3 and L2 in support when specified in service tickets.
We eventually get the resolution we seek.
I would rate their technical support a ten because we have various support channels available.
They have a support model available, with first-level support handling initial issues when I integrate the system.
We received the right support during our implementation and continue to benefit from it.
I have not tried vertical scaling yet, but from the documentation, it seems very easy to scale the system.
Microsoft Azure is not just one product; it is a platform with multiple products within Microsoft Azure, and I would say it is scalable and would rate it a nine.
The scalability of Microsoft Azure is excellent for growth and adaptation, depending on company requirements.
It has different kinds of designs that allow for management and deployment in multi-zones, offering both scalable and non-scalable options.
AWS has been running probably 96% of Fortune 500 companies across the globe, so scalability is not an issue.
The product is versatile and can manage complexity beyond expectations.
For scalability and the ability to expand, I would also rate it an eight.
DigitalOcean is quite stable, and I would rate its stability at nine out of ten.
It is approximately 50 to 60% stable, reaching 60 to 70% depending on usage levels.
We noticed a few critical servers went down due to a Microsoft Azure-end hardware issue.
We are now migrating clients without the zoning into mandatory multi-zone deployments, so if one zone goes down, their application and database remain live.
Microsoft Azure is quite stable, but recent outages and security issues have slightly decreased my confidence.
As a finance controller, we have seen improvements in finance deliverables, SLAs in payables, and reconciliation timelines.
I would rate the stability of SAP S4HANA on AWS an eight out of ten.
DigitalOcean could offer a pay-as-you-go model similar to AWS, where I would pay for what I use rather than having fixed payments.
There are issues where even with 8 GB RAM, the performance doesn't meet expectations.
The lack of a proper service provider model ultimately led us to cease operations with DigitalOcean.
Recent outages and security issues are also a concern, causing a decrease in confidence, especially when partnering with third-party companies.
The administrative side is suitable for technical people, but our finance and HR super users find it less user-friendly, as they prefer drag-and-drop features to build their own solutions without contacting IT.
There is still room for improvement in terms of pricing.
The interface and interaction with the technical team require intensive training.
SAP introduced flexible workflows, which are even better if I want customized workflows for my documentation within the procurement domain.
Having these integrations as a single source rather than working in silos would be beneficial for customers.
DigitalOcean offers affordable pricing, especially for startups.
Microsoft solutions might be cheaper than some services like AWS, but some solutions may be more expensive depending on the services compared.
Copilot is expensive based on recent pricing for our POC.
They have discounts and also provide promotions for a three-year reservation which comes with significant discounts on the infrastructure part.
SAP is not cheap, with many hidden costs encountered during implementation.
The initial setup required a higher investment, but the return on investment has justified the cost.
The main issue is the pricing, which is typically too high for small companies.
The droplet feature is valuable for hosting my applications as it is particularly cost-effective and serves my needs well.
The most significant aspect is that we can connect directly to the system from anywhere.
The team was particularly satisfied with the flexibility of the service and the rules for managing virtual machines on DigitalOcean.
Power BI, another feature of Azure, is extremely elegant and has robust features that support forecasting using R and Python.
If Microsoft gives a report, such as a server performance report in a detailed way, which shows what is consuming more CPU, memory, and disk IO, and network utilization during a particular time, it would be helpful to visualize that information.
What is very interesting in terms of scalability is the automatic possibilities to provision some new machines to be able to absorb the number of users we have in the system.
The costing and personnel planning integration are among the strongest areas of this solution.
From the finance side, we have enhanced our internal controls and reduced the timeline for closing the month from a year to just two days.
In terms of usage and automation, SAP S4HANA on AWS is very good at automation, where instead of manually punching entry by entry as with Tally, Zoho, or NetSuite, you can do a bulk upload and close it from one GL to another GL entry from one T-code to another T-code.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure | 9.9% |
| SAP S4HANA on AWS | 2.4% |
| DigitalOcean | 1.8% |
| Other | 85.9% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 10 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 2 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 140 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 54 |
| Large Enterprise | 149 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 19 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 8 |
| Large Enterprise | 16 |
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?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.
SAP customers of all sizes can fully realize all the benefits of the SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition on the AWS Cloud. With SAP S/4HANA, on-premise edition on the AWS Cloud you can:
