Can Microsoft Azure Cloud Services Help Your Small Business?

Everything You Need to Know About Optimizing Microsoft Azure

It’s no longer than any secret that the Cloud is changing the game for businesses of all shapes and sizes. But many small-to-mid-sized businesses are still unsure of where and how to start optimizing Cloud services to help their companies soar to new heights. Microsoft Azure is the king of Cloud services for business and we’re on a mission to help Raleigh businesses understand and get the most out of Microsoft’s Cloud services platform.

Why Is Microsoft Azure a Game-Changer for Cloud-curious Businesses?

Many businesses have probably heard of Microsoft Azure. Lots may already be using the Cloud-services platform. However, for those wanting to know more, we’ve decided to create a guidebook for Raleigh business leaders who are hoping to start using the platform or get more out of an already existing setup.

The biggest benefit of Microsoft Azure Cloud services is that the platform helps business owners streamline and centralize their most critical applications and devices. This goes a long way in terms of ensuring business organizations and their teams have secure access to what they need, when they need it.

This is especially important in specialized and regulated industries like healthcare, government, finance, and manufacturing, but can be a huge asset for start-ups and small businesses as well. While over 90% of Fortune 500 companies deploy Azure as their trusted Cloud platform, Microsoft has made recent moves to ensure the platform is an affordable and functional option for the small business sector too.

As a small business leader, you’ve probably heard some of this hype before. However, we’re hoping to cut through the noise and answer the questions you really care about. We hope to help you understand what Microsoft Azure Cloud services include, how they can help your business, and give you concrete strategies for deployment and ongoing platform management.

Here’s all the Microsoft Azure questions (and answers!) you should know about:

What is Microsoft Azure?

Azure includes a large and varied collection of integrated Cloud services that are designed specifically to help businesses like yours optimize computing, database management, mobile and remote use and access, networking, data storage, web services, analytics, and more. Even better? All of these Cloud services are centralized in Microsoft Azure in a way that helps businesses boost productivity and cost-efficiency.

As mentioned, Azure includes a massive collection of Cloud service solutions for business, including:

• Azure Active Directory
• Windows Virtual Desktop
• Azure SQL Database
• Azure Cosmos DB
• Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS)

Azure also includes a variety of other functions like Cognitive Services, Virtual Machines, App Service, Machine Learning, and more. This means no matter what kind of Cloud computing your business needs, Microsoft Azure has the solutions to help you optimize functionality, scalability, productivity, and affordability.

What are the most popular service arrangements with Microsoft Azure?

Depending on the shape and size of your business, and the type of Cloud-computing you rely on, the Cloud-services arrangement you set up with Microsoft Azure will vary. Azure is designed to be customizable, meaning you can select the service arrangement and deployment style that best suits your business needs.

Luckily, Microsoft Azure has a very robust collection of deployment and management arrangements including:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)

How can Microsoft Azure Cloud services help your business?

Above all, Microsoft Azure is so great because it connects businesses to the latest technologies – no matter the shape or size of the organization, nor the industry they’re in. Second, Microsoft Azure has the power to position Raleigh businesses for optimal productivity and success by bringing together innovative Cloud technologies and streamlining them for 360-degree business benefits.

Here are some of the key ways Microsoft Azure will help your business:

• Strategic and centralized hosting of all business data and applications
• Increased uptime, decreased downtime, and budget benefits
• Improved communication and collaboration with your team and clients
• Improved monitoring and maintenance of centralized data centers
• Improved maintenance of regulatory compliance
• 99.9% reliability – with a money-back guarantee from Microsoft
• Innovative and strategic Cloud security and breach-prevention
• Timely updates with the newest Microsoft tools, services, and solutions
• Ability to design and build custom applications and websites

How does Microsoft Azure manage Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Cloud deployments?

First things first, let’s make sure what we’re talking about here is crystal clear. Depending on the needs and services of different companies, some use a Public Cloud deployment, some use a Private Cloud deployment, while others use a Hybrid Cloud deployment.

• A Public Cloud deployment involves all company data and applications being stored on Cloud space that is owned and managed by a third-party vendor.
• A Private Cloud deployment involves company data and applications being stored on Cloud space that is owned and managed by the business itself.
• Finally, a Hybrid Cloud deployment involves a combination of the two – business data and applications are divided between Public and Private Cloud deployments. Additionally, on a Hybrid Cloud, some company data is also sally still stored locally, on-premise.

Microsoft Azure knows that different companies want to deploy their Cloud solutions in different ways. That’s why Azure supports all three types of Cloud deployments and depending on the unique needs of each business, Azure provides similar scalability, security, performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency benefits on the Private, Public, or Hybrid models.

Deploying Microsoft Azure – Finding Cloud Support Services

We’ve included the basic questions and answers about Microsoft Azure and its business benefits in this guide. However, there’s one final step left in our Microsoft Azure information session. Once you have a good understanding of what Microsoft Azure is, the Cloud services that are included, and the ways it will benefit your business, it’s time to create a game-plan for deploying Microsoft Azure in your office and beyond.

Start by taking an inventory of the kind of Cloud-computing that you and your team rely upon or could be taking advantage of. Pay attention to the areas of your business that could use optimization or improvement. Then, once you have a solid idea of what your Cloud-services solution should look like, don’t hesitate to reach out to a team of Raleigh IT professionals for consultation and strategic deployment support.

In fact, if you’re ready to start talking Azure deployment, why not reach out to the team of Cloud-computing experts at CPS, Inc.? Our team of IT professionals has helped countless Raleigh businesses, of all shapes and sizes, deploy Azure strategically and for long-term benefit.

The team of Cloud professionals at CSP, Inc. can help your business with all aspects of Azure deployment including:

• Preliminary Azure information-sharing and consultation
• Strategic deployment planning to minimize business disruption
• Dynamic centralization of most-used Azure Cloud services
• Team education and support to maximize Azure benefits
• Ongoing monitoring, management, and maintenance of your custom Azure platform

If you’re ready to stop thinking about optimizing your Cloud services for your Raleigh business and put your ideas into action, call the team of IT experts from CSP, Inc. at (919) 424-2000 . You can also reach us by email at info@cspinc.com. Don’t sit by and watch your competitors take advantage of the Cloud. Position your team for long-term success with Azure and have CSP, Inc. make the process easier than ever.