Microsoft Azure is a public cloud platform with over 200 products and cloud services that allow you to build, deploy, and manage applications without owning the underlying infrastructure. Microsoft leveraged its ever-expanding worldwide network of data centres to create Azure, so it perfectly complements an organisation’s existing Microsoft infrastructure. Understand the benefits of Microsoft Azure for your business:
1) Perfect for both small and established businesses
Azure is designed for easy scaling, with its pay-as-you-go model means you only pay for the storage that you need. You can scale up and down depending on your storage requirements, website traffic or wider IT demands, making it ideal for growing businesses. Azure also allows you to launch and store internal and external applications in the cloud, which helps save on IT hardware and maintenance costs.
2) Complements and expands your current IT infrastructure
Microsoft Azure is designed to seamlessly complement and extend your existing IT infrastructure. Its full integration and compatibility with a wide range of applications that your organisation already relies upon — including Outlook, SharePoint, Microsoft 365 and numerous third-party solutions — ensure that adopting Azure feels like a natural evolution rather than a disruptive overhaul.
Azure’s flexibility means it can be deployed across on-premises, hybrid, and fully cloud environments, offering unrivalled agility to meet your operational needs. By aligning with your current systems, Azure supports and accelerates your digital transformation initiatives, empowering your organisation to modernise at pace. Additionally, Azure’s automatic software updates ensure that your infrastructure remains secure, resilient, and up to date with the latest features, without the burden of manual intervention. This continuous innovation cycle enables your teams to build, test, and deploy the latest applications faster and more efficiently, keeping you ahead of the curve in today’s competitive digital landscape.
Azure can allow you to develop advanced solutions faster
3) Security, compliance and disaster recovery
One of the major benefits of Microsoft Azure is the platform’s exceptional focus on security, making it arguably one of the safest and most robust ways to store and manage your data. Azure’s single sign-on feature streamlines user access, significantly reducing password security vulnerabilities by offering secure, seamless logins across multiple applications and devices. This advanced authentication process strengthens your organisation’s defence against unauthorised access attempts. Furthermore, Azure is backed by the comprehensive security architecture of Microsoft 365, providing layered protection across identity, data, networking, and applications.
Azure also boasts an extensive list of compliance certifications, covering key international, regional, and industry-specific standards, which makes it a leading choice for businesses operating in high-risk sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government. In the unlikely event of a security incident, Azure’s sophisticated disaster recovery and business continuity solutions allow organisations to recover critical data and resume operations within hours, minimising downtime and safeguarding business continuity. Together, these features ensure that Microsoft Azure offers a security posture that not only protects your data but actively supports your wider risk management and compliance strategies.
4) Industry-specific applications
Microsoft Azure recognises the sensitive and highly regulated nature of industries such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and others. To address the unique operational, security, and compliance requirements of these sectors, Azure offers a range of purpose-built applications and services. These include specialised security functions, modernised customer applications, offline-first cloud services for remote or disconnected environments, simplified compliance management, advanced Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, and intelligent automation capabilities.
By providing industry-specific frameworks and pre-developed cloud functionality, Azure enables organisations to accelerate digital transformation initiatives without the need for costly custom development. This strategic approach reduces time to market, enhances operational resilience, and ensures organisations remain agile in a rapidly changing regulatory landscape. For businesses operating in complex sectors, Azure’s tailored solutions represent a significant competitive advantage, allowing them to innovate confidently while maintaining full alignment with industry best practices and compliance standards.
5) Leading the way with infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
Azure’s hybrid cloud environment provides businesses with unparalleled flexibility, offering the ability to run operations seamlessly from the cloud, on-premises, or across a combination of both. This approach ensures organisations are not restricted by a single infrastructure model and can easily scale or adapt their environments to meet changing business needs, regulatory requirements, or operational demands.
Whether you are beginning your cloud journey or looking to optimise an existing setup, Azure makes integration smooth, with minimal disruption to daily activities.
For organisations seeking an efficient, secure, and highly adaptable method to develop a sophisticated cloud infrastructure, Azure licensing presents an ideal Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solution. It provides a cost-effective pathway to leverage powerful virtual machines, scalable storage, and advanced networking solutions — all underpinned by Microsoft’s industry-leading security protocols.
Azure enables businesses to create custom hybrid setups, combining the performance of local servers with the scalability and resilience of cloud computing. This flexibility is particularly valuable for businesses managing sensitive data, needing to maintain high availability, or requiring extensive disaster recovery capabilities. Azure’s hybrid model empowers organisations to future-proof their operations while maintaining control over critical resources.
Akita is a leading Azure service provider and Microsoft Gold partner. To discuss Azure solutions with us please get in touch:
