Proprietary
Microsoft Azure
Cloud platform integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem
A hyperscale cloud platform with infrastructure and managed services, tightly integrated with Microsoft tooling and identity.
In depth
What it is
Microsoft Azure is a hyperscale cloud platform with infrastructure and managed services, tightly integrated with Microsoft tooling and identity.
Key features
- Compute - VMs, containers, and managed application platforms.
- Identity - Tight integration with Entra ID for access control.
- Networking - Virtual networks, private endpoints, and hybrid connectivity.
- Managed services - First-party managed databases, messaging, and analytics.
Strengths
- Compute - VMs, containers, and managed application platforms.
- Identity - Tight integration with Entra ID for access control.
- Networking - Virtual networks, private endpoints, and hybrid connectivity.
Trade-offs
- Complexity - Service sprawl and policy management become ongoing work.
- Cost - Pricing varies across services and cross-region traffic adds cost.
- Lock-in - Deep integration with vendor services reduces portability.
Pricing
Usage-based billing across many services. Cost drivers include resource consumption, data transfer, and managed add-ons.
Explore alternatives
