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Paul_Anderson - PeerSpot reviewer
Group Data Architect at Arrow Global Ltd
Real User
Top 5
Makes it easy to spin up new environments and develop new technologies
Pros and Cons
  • "The product makes it easy to spin up new environments and develop new technologies."

    What is our primary use case?

    My organization's entire infrastructure is cloud-based, so everything we have happens in Azure.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The product makes it easy to spin up new environments and develop new technologies.

    What is most valuable?

    The product’s flexibility is its best feature. We are not tied to particular machines. We can upgrade servers, downgrade servers, add storage, and take storage away with a flick of a switch. Microsoft constantly adds new features.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the solution for five years. I am using the latest version.

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    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I rate the product’s stability a ten out of ten.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I rate the product’s scalability a ten out of ten.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We were using a private cloud before.

    How was the initial setup?

    I rate the ease of setup an eight or nine out of ten. The deployment took about three months.

    What about the implementation team?

    We used a service provider for the deployment of the solution. They handled most of it. Four in-house people were involved in the deployment.

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

    I rate the pricing a five or six out of ten.

    What other advice do I have?

    I really like the solution. Overall, I rate the tool 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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Amey Darekar - PeerSpot reviewer
    Personal Banker at HDFC Bank
    Real User
    Top 5Leaderboard
    An easy and robust solution that provides good performance and support
    Pros and Cons
    • "Microsoft Azure provides good performance and support."
    • "The solution’s stability could be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    I use Microsoft Azure to prepare a design document for the security implementation concerning Azure.

    What is most valuable?

    Compared to earlier technology, Microsoft Azure is very easy and robust and has features like scaling. Microsoft Azure provides good performance and support.

    What needs improvement?

    The solution’s stability could be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft Azure for eight years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Microsoft Azure is a very stable solution.

    I rate Microsoft Azure a nine out of ten for stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Microsoft Azure is a scalable solution.

    How are customer service and support?

    The solution's technical support is good. The technical support team dedicates time to us, and we don't face any challenges with them.

    How was the initial setup?

    The solution’s initial setup is clear and easy.

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

    Microsoft Azure is a cost-effective solution where you use it as per your requirement and pay for it.

    What other advice do I have?

    Microsoft Azure is a cloud-based solution.

    I would recommend Microsoft Azure to other users. The solution's availability is vast. Centers in India have regulatory requirements to keep the data within India, and Microsoft Azure helps us mitigate those regulatory requirements. The solution's support is very good, and it helps meet the business requirements.

    Overall, I rate Microsoft Azure an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
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    December 2024
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    PranavKumar2 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Program Manager - Cloud Solutions at G7 CR Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.
    Real User
    Top 10
    Provides hosting and comprehensive control over our infrastructure and services
    Pros and Cons
    • "It enhance the application's performance by managing increased demand efficiently"
    • "It should improve database performance and make the platform more user-friendly. Additionally, providing more tools for seamless migration from AWS to Azure would be beneficial."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use Microsoft Azure for hosting websites. It provides comprehensive control over our infrastructure and services.

    What is most valuable?

    Azure is easy to use and visualize.

    What needs improvement?

    It should improve database performance and make the platform more user-friendly. Additionally, providing more tools for seamless migration from AWS to Azure would be beneficial. Performance testing should ensure that systems remain reliable and transactions do not drop unexpectedly.

    It should be thoroughly testet before release. Additionally, in Kubernetes, detailed documentation should be included, especially for STO.

    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?

    The solution is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Microsoft Azure is highly scalable. It enhance the application's performance by managing increased demand efficiently. For instance, if around one thousand requests per second are coming in, Azure can handle this load seamlessly. Its scalability ensures consistent performance even under heavy traffic.

    How are customer service and support?

    If you have an issue with Microsoft Azure, they will help me resolve it.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    How was the initial setup?

    We use Terraform to deploy and configure our infrastructure on Microsoft Azure, following a hub-and-spoke model for networking.

    It is a continuous process. Mostly, it takes about one and a half months for approval and around one month for deployment. Based on customer requirements or new needs, we continuously update the resources within the Azure infrastructure.

    If I create a Terraform script, it significantly reduces the need for support. Typically, just two or three people are needed to manage it.

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

    Azure is a strong competitor to AWS. AWS has a competitive pricing strategy, but Azure offers unique benefits. Azure provides credits, which can reduce costs for a certain period. For example, you might receive yearly credits, resulting in zero infrastructure investment for that year. 

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    In comparison to AWS, Azure is user-friendly and has lower cost. Azure also provides good performance over time.

    What other advice do I have?

    In Kubernetes, what we are using offers different features, which is good. We are enabling more drivers and integrations, which is beneficial. Regarding virtual machines, they also perform very well.

    We are using cognitive services include the Face API.

    We have built a comprehensive AI search feature, specifically Cognitive Search, and implemented it in our application.

    If a product is supposed to include certain features, it performs as expected. The support team ensures it is a reliable product, without parts that don't work. Products are thoroughly tested to ensure quality. However, in Azure, maintaining new products can be challenging and requires significant work. AWS fixes these issues more efficiently. 

    Some startups choose Azure because they may not have much funding. These startups find Azure services beneficial and cost-effective.

    Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Senior Manager Presales at NEC
    Reseller
    Top 20
    Offers a single dashboard to users, making areas like management and monitoring easy
    Pros and Cons
    • "It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
    • "I would want Microsoft Azure to provide some credits that can be used to test and validate Microsoft’s different solutions since it is an area where the product lacks."

    What is our primary use case?

    My company is a platinum partner of Microsoft, owing to which we resell the platform and licenses to our customers. My company also uses the product within the organization.

    What needs improvement?

    From the perspective of a user who has a partnership relationship with Microsoft, I would want Microsoft Azure to provide some credits that can be used to test and validate Microsoft’s different solutions since it is an area where the product lacks.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft Azure for four to five years. My company has a partnership with Microsoft.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

    My company caters to the needs of enterprise-sized companies who need Microsoft Azure.

    How was the initial setup?

    I rate the product's initial setup phase an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.

    The solution is deployed on the cloud.

    The time required for the product's deployment depends on the complexity and size of the infrastructure.

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

    I rate the product price a seven or eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is high price.

    The pricing of the licenses attached to the solution depends on the requirements of the users.

    What other advice do I have?

    The projects or workload that have been migrated to Microsoft Azure in my company is an area that is managed by a different team since I work as an accounts manager. My job role is just to get the business for our company. Once I get the business for my company, I submit the details to the technical or delivery team, which takes care of the business part.

    The feature of the product that has been most impactful for our company's operations stems from the fact that everything is on a single dashboard. In general, everything is on a single dashboard or a single page where users can monitor and manage everything related to the product.

    The product's scalability benefited our company's business needs since we can upgrade it or scale up to meet our needs.

    The knowledge related to the integration capabilities of Microsoft Azure with the existing products in my company's infrastructure lies with the technical team in my organization.

    I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    AlanGulle - PeerSpot reviewer
    Data SME at Sparta Global
    Real User
    Highly secure, fully integrated, and helpful support
    Pros and Cons
    • "The application services are the most valuable in Microsoft Azure. I'm not using them directly but I am using the function and the web applications. I don't need to pay a lot for the maintenance. I do not need to have a DevOps employee."
    • "The documentation can be outdated and is not as clear in Microsoft Azure as it is in AWS or Google."

    What is our primary use case?

    We deploy all of our projects in Microsoft Azure. We are a startup company. We have been since the beginning deploying our code in Azure cloud. We are actively using the full capabilities of two cloud services.

    What is most valuable?

    The application services are the most valuable in Microsoft Azure. I'm not using them directly but I am using the function and the web applications. I don't need to pay a lot for the maintenance. I do not need to have a DevOps employee. 

    I am familiar with Google, and everything I was doing was in Google. I had to control my back proxies and do my own configuration files. With Microsoft Azure, it is all easy.

    What needs improvement?

    The documentation can be outdated and is not as clear in Microsoft Azure as it is in AWS or Google.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft Azure for approximately four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is stable. 

    It's easy to monitor, there's no problem with the code in their development. We had some stability issues, it was not the fault of Microsoft Azure, but it was the mistakes of the developers. It was easy to monitor it in Azure.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Microsoft Azure is highly scalable.

    On only one web application I created with one service plan I can connect 10  projects. Imagine one machine can run 10 projects at the same time because whatever the project has more requests or demands, it will scale its machines and auto-scale down. This is why it makes it affordable. I can control which project is demanding more computing power or storage power.

    We have approximately 50 people using this solution in my organization. It is mainly back and front developers.

    We are drastically increasing our usage because last year we were running 13 projects, and now 19 projects. In 2022 we are trying to double our team.

    How are customer service and support?

    The support could improve. For example, Python is needed for Microsoft Azure,  and the lack of documentation for the community is a problem. If you are a Python developer Microsoft Azure released an update to Python at the end of May 2021. Theoretically, I can use it with Python, but if I have a problem I need to call a Microsoft engineer to solve it. It takes some time. However, I did receive very good support from the Microsoft engineers to make my system production-ready, but language support for Python and other languages is coming late.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I have used other solutions, such as Google and AWS.

    When comparing these solutions to Microsoft Azure, AWS has better documentation, Google's cognitive services, and predictions give better results, and Microsoft Azure has the best UI. If you want to reach the database of Google, there is no such SQL manager UI. Microsoft Azure UI is easy to use and has great tools.

    How was the initial setup?

    The deployment's easy and the pipelines are easy from the Azure DevOps, everything is integrated and it has good security. The overall setup is extremely easy.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have a team in London that is maintaining the solution. We have 450 backend developers at this site and approximately five people are looking after all the maintenance and admin roles. We have database and developers administrators that are giving access to the people for the production maintenance. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I am very happy with the solution.

    Thanks to the training I have received from Microsoft Azure, which cost £60,000, I'm up-skilling all my team for the certification, databases, and machine learning tool. Every month I'm receiving approximately £1,000 from the training credit for the up-skilling.

    It is simple to start with Microsoft Azure if you know the application life cycle. You can try so many things without any cost because of the serverless system. You will not be charged for any request at the beginning. For example, you are creating a function application in Azure the first 10,000 requests are free. It is great because you can anyone a developer to test anything.

    They're not using very heavy machine learning systems, the system is generally cheap. For example, they are giving a free month trial and a developer can't finish it personally if they do not use a large computing machine.

    At the moment they are adding new features faster than I expected. For example, they have Python support but five years ago there wasn't any Python support. They were slow at the beginning but now it updates very quickly. For example, the community services for the low code, no code power platforms, and the power platforms.

    I spoke to my developers, machine learning engineer, data engineer, and data scientists and told them please use the auto ML or the community services better. As a London business user site team, we can create all the virtual agents and AI builders with the no code platform for the machine learning models for the power applications. The auto ML is very powerful and you don't need to be an expert in machine learning.

    I rate Microsoft Azure a nine out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Roymell Santos - PeerSpot reviewer
    ICT Officer at Intelligent Skincareinc Inc.
    Real User
    Top 5Leaderboard
    Used to manage and secure users' email, but the initial setup is a bit complex
    Pros and Cons
    • "We use the solution to manage and secure my users' email for the Active Directory."
    • "The solution’s initial setup is a bit complex."

    What is most valuable?

    We use the solution to manage and secure my users' email for the Active Directory.

    What needs improvement?

    The solution’s initial setup is a bit complex.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft Azure for seven months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Only two users are currently using the solution.

    I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

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

    We pay a monthly licensing fee for the solution, which could be cheaper.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are currently evaluating how to maximize the use of services to back up our database. Microsoft Azure is a cloud-based solution. I would recommend Microsoft Azure to other users because it has many services that will benefit companies.

    Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer2402727 - PeerSpot reviewer
    QA Manager at a transportation company with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    Manages the sequence of tasks and sprints
    Pros and Cons
    • "We use Azure DevOps' full hierarchy to manage our data workloads. From product management to development and QA stages, Azure DevOps provides tools. Additionally, we're implementing automation testing and integrating it with our CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps. This platform helps us manage all our processes."
    • "Microsoft Azure needs to improve its customization capabilities. Each organization has unique tasks and fields that it wants to use. Additionally, the search functionality could be more flexible."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use the solution as part of the scrum agile methodology. 

    What is most valuable?

    We use Azure DevOps' full hierarchy to manage our data workloads. From product management to development and QA stages, Azure DevOps provides tools. Additionally, we're implementing automation testing and integrating it with our CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps. This platform helps us manage all our processes. 

    The main advantage of using it is that it supports a smooth workflow from development to QA, following the Scrum Agile methodology. It manages the sequence of tasks and sprints. The tool's integration capabilities are good. 

    What needs improvement?

    Microsoft Azure needs to improve its customization capabilities. Each organization has unique tasks and fields that it wants to use. Additionally, the search functionality could be more flexible. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with the product for five years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I rate the product's stability an eight out of ten. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I rate the solution's scalability a seven out of ten. 

    How are customer service and support?

    I haven't contacted technical support yet. 

    How was the initial setup?

    I rate Microsoft Azure's deployment ease as five out of ten. It takes around a month and a half to complete, while our sprints take two weeks. Moreover, we conduct three rounds of testing and development. 

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

    The product is expensive. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten. 

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer2348199 - PeerSpot reviewer
    IT Administrator at a security firm with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    Secure, easy to use, and provides good reporting features
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is secure and easy to use."
    • "The support team is not responding to my emails."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use the product for Exchange, Microsoft Intune, SharePoint, and OneDrive.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution is secure and easy to use. It meets the security guidelines. It is approved by the state and the shareholders. MFA is a good feature. The reporting features are also good. The management and the logging of incidents are good. It’s a good solution for our use cases. I don't have any negative opinions about it.

    What needs improvement?

    Sometimes, I need better support. Microsoft must acknowledge support cases for the product. There have been some data leak issues lately. The support team is not responding to my emails. I had a call with an engineer on a weekend, and he told me he would follow up on Monday, but he hasn’t shown up yet.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the solution for one and a half years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The tool is 99.99% stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The tool is scalable. We have 50 to 100 employees. We're a startup, but we are growing.

    How are customer service and support?

    Overall, the support team is good.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Neutral

    How was the initial setup?

    The tool was easy to install. The maintenance is fairly easy. When I have issues, I contact Microsoft, and the team helps me.

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

    The tool is cheap.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are not allowed to store data in Azure. Our data is encrypted via third-party software. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Microsoft Azure Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: December 2024
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Microsoft Azure Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.