Technology is changing at a faster pace. Today cloud computing is getting popular, and companies are investing heavily in it. Cloud computing delivers computing solutions like servers, databases, storage, networking, analytics, intelligence, and software on the internet to enable faster services, flexible resources, and affordability. Some of the big companies in cloud computing are Amazon, Google, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Digital Ocean, etc. Their data centers are available all over the world.
What is Azure?
Azure is the cloud service offered by Microsoft. With Azure, you can easily develop, deploy and manage the applications that make your job easy. Azure addresses the wide-ranging solutions to a variety of industries like:
- Healthcare
- Government
- Retail
- Manufacturing
- Financial sector
Azure offers over 600 services which can be categorized into three cloud services – SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS.
- SaaS – Software as a service or SaaS gives clients the ease of access to professional products. SaaS allows you to access the software via the internet, which means you don't have to install and maintain software on every computer. SaaS application is sometimes known as Web-based software, hosted software, or on-demand software. It runs on the server of the SaaS provider who manages the application, including availability, security, and performance. Examples of SaaS are Dropbox, Google Apps, Netflix, etc.
- PaaS – Platform as a service or PaaS is a cloud computing service offering flexibility and scalability to the cloud platform to develop, deploy and run the apps. It has everything that a developer needs for the development of an application without having to update the operating system, maintain hardware or develop tools. The entire PaaS platform is delivered via the cloud by a third-party provider. It helps businesses by avoiding the need to install the hardware and software to host a new custom application. Developers can pay for development tools, infrastructure, operating systems, etc., as they access the platform to build apps. This allows the developer to focus on the application code.
- IaaS – Infrastructure as a service offers resources to businesses via the cloud. It eliminates the need to procure, manage and configure for the enterprise, and they only need to pay for what they use. With IaaS, you don't have to purchase and maintain a private server room that takes up a lot of space and energy.
Why use Azure?
Some businesses still have concerns about migrating their applications to the cloud as they fear security, reliability and downtime. This paralyzes the business function, making them continue with their existing infrastructure, which is aging with time.
Microsoft Azure is the leading solution for moving completely or partially to the cloud-based architecture. Azure enables the enterprises to add cloud capabilities to the existing network using the PaaS model, or you can trust Microsoft with all the network and computing needs with IaaS. This provides reliable and secure access to the cloud-hosted data on the Microsoft architecture. Azure allows you to enjoy a wide range of products and services to meet all your needs in a convenient manner.
What can Azure do?
Azure has all the essential elements that are necessary for a virtual network and delivering the applications or services to the audience worldwide. The services include:
- Virtual machines – Create Linux or Microsoft virtual machines from the wide selection of templates. The VMs will host your services as they reside in your own data center.
- SQL databases – Azure enables you to manage one or more numbers of SQL databases as a service. This saves the expenses on software, hardware, and hiring in-house expertise.
- Application services – Azure allows you to build and deploy applications easily and that too which are compatible with most of the popular web platforms. Azure cloud is reliable and scalable so that you can focus on the business functions while saving resources and time. With Azure web apps and Azure marketplace, you can test and deploy web applications that are scalable.
- Storage – The global infrastructure of Microsoft offers safe and accessible data storage. It has great scalability and affordability that allows you to access the data in a safe and simple manner.
- Visual Studio team services – Visual Studio Team allows you to enjoy a complete application lifecycle management solution in the cloud. It enables the developers to share and track the changes in the code, complete load testing, and deliver the applications in collaboration with Azure. Visual Studio Team simplifies the development and delivery of the product.
Why are people trusting Microsoft Azure?
Self-hosted data centers have no future; it's time to switch to affordable and convenient cloud solutions. There are many players in the cloud services like Apple's iCloud, AWS, etc., but why big names like BMW, GE, and 3M are trusting Microsoft Azure? Here are the reasons:
- Affordability – Microsoft Azure makes it convenient and easier to scale the infrastructure while keeping the prices affordable. Infrastructure devices like load balancers, routers, etc., along with physical services, can cost you thousands of dollars. Azure can reduce the IT budget massively by offering its massive infrastructure and expertise.
- Applications – Azure offers la carte services, including Visual Studio Team Services, Storage for both cold and accessed data, which makes the development and testing easier. You can easily move an application from testing mode to production mode on a globally distributed network. Microsoft also offers discounts to move the existing integration to Azure, which further saves money.
- Flexibility – With a static data center, you need to get new hardware and operating system to scale your data storage capabilities. However, Microsoft Azure allows you to get new services and scale your data storage capabilities easily. This flexibility makes it one of the tempting solutions for any organization.
- Recovery – Azure has a decentralized infrastructure that works in a speedy manner so that you can get limitless options for disaster recovery. Azure guarantees continuous service delivery when a disaster strikes.
- Security – Azure has been designed on Security Development Cycle, which means it has security at its core, and data stay safe on the Azure cloud. Azure is the most trusted cloud platform in the US and is the first to embrace the new international standard for cloud privacy. Thus, it ensures to deliver the best in terms of safety in all kinds of operations on the platform.
- Hybrid capabilities – Azure's hybrid capability makes it unique. It allows easy mobility and offers a reliable platform between on-premise and public cloud. It provides a wide range of hybrid connections like VPNs, CDNs, caches, and Express Route connections to improve performance and usability.
- Easy integration with other Microsoft tools – Businesses that are dependent on Microsoft tools like Outlook, Office 365, and Share Point can invest in a cloud platform that can seamlessly integrate with Microsoft products. Azure simplifies the operations by using the same on-premise machines as Linux and Windows.
- Easy learning curve – Familiar tools and programming languages like C++, Java, etc., are used to develop cloud-based applications. This makes it easy for the developers to develop a cloud-based enterprise application.
- Identity and Access management – The IAM capabilities of Azure, along with Azure's active directory service, make it easier for the users to access the right information. It reduces the identity management cost and supports the innovative initiatives of a business.
Microsoft's Azure is the choice of more than two-thirds of businesses as it offers a vast infrastructure with infinite scalability, which makes it ideal for small as well as big businesses.
Other public cloud platforms like Amazon web services and Google cloud platform offer similar capabilities to Azure, but Microsoft is launching new components in Azure quickly, making it more desirable for businesses.
Why hire a Microsoft Azure developer?
Many businesses are using Azure not because it's mainstream but because it's good for their business. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, move your business to the cloud. Professional Azure developers will help you in making the best out of the cloud, which will bring significant growth to your business.
Azure offers everything that your business needs- from data management to web development; you can use Azure for anything. Once you have a project in your mind, target the process to make it successful rather than getting overwhelmed by the options.
Hiring a dedicated developer is an important step that needs considerable knowledge about software development. One thing that you don't want is to trust the hiring process with the one who has no technical knowledge. If you lack technical knowledge, you should first the hiring process from the great resources present on the internet.
Hiring an Azure developer from India comes with many benefits. The first is that India has a vast talent pool, and you can get the best programmers from India at budget-friendly rates. Another benefit is the favorable time zone. You can collaborate with your developers from India and work in sync at the time most suitable for you.
With integrated Azure cloud services, businesses can develop, deploy and manage complex applications easily. Azure enables the applications to run smoothly. Due to its scalability, it doesn't need any additional coding even when there is a massive increase in the number of users of the application. Azure provides safe, ductile, and performance-efficient storage services in the cloud.
You should ensure that the Azure developer has the following qualities:
- Needed qualification and experience in cloud computing.
- Awareness about Microsoft products like Powershell and Office 365.
- Ability to use Azure effectively
- Skills to solve the problems to build, manage and deploy the apps
- Programming skills in languages like Java and C#
Here are the effective tips that can help you in getting the best developers for your next project:
- Remove Biases – Hiring biases may cause you to lose productivity and opportunity for revenue generation. So, ensure that your hiring team removes any biases. An easy solution is to integrate a standard interview to allow their skills and experience to shine.
- Attract – You need to show the developers what your company is about and what it offers that your competitors don't. You need to show how much your company values the new talent and that talent within the company is respected and valued. This not only attracts the best developers rather also helps in retaining them.
- Competitive rates – With the growing popularity of cloud services, we know that businesses like yours are going to hire dedicated developers. So, in order to beat the competition and to successfully get talented employees, you need to offer competitive rates to them. You can check out the average rates for Azure developers online so that you can get the talent that you need in your first offer.
AWS vs Azure vs Google cloud
AWS is the oldest among all the three, but Azure offers the most updated services. Azure has the built-in backup while the backup is absent in Google cloud, and Amazon S3 is used for the secondary backup in AWS. Azure gives enterprise-grade hybrid cloud storage, while AWS offers managed virtual tape infrastructure across hybrid environments. Google cloud is dependent on the partners like Egnyte. AWS has the largest market position, and Azure is the second-largest provider. AWS developers charge per hour, while Azure and Google cloud developers charge per minute.
Conclusion
Microsoft Azure is the fastest-growing cloud computing platform adopted by businesses. Every business needs a streamlined workflow and time management. Azure allows businesses to do their work easily while offering speed, security, productivity, and much more. To grow your business now is the time to integrate the cloud services while hiring the Azure developers who can manage the platform and ensure its daily maintenance.