What is Microsoft Azure?
Microsoft Azure: Ready-To-Use Cloud Computing Solutions for SMBs
Today’s small and medium businesses face plenty of challenges. Customers expect the same reach, quality, and level of service as larger businesses, and they must do this with fewer resources. Just to turn a simple profit, every business must have an answer for how to:
- Lower costs and increase revenue without any loss of product quality
- Evolve and react to changing customer behavior
- Protect data from thieves, natural disasters, and human error
- Use complex technologies to stay ahead of the competition
- Remain compliant with industry and government regulations
- Find, train, motivate, and retain the best possible employees
- Offer employees a flexible workday and enable them to work from home
- Plan technology investments to support the business two, five, even 10 years into the future
But Microsoft provides an important cloud-based tool that levels the playing field and offers a way to solve the above challenges for small and medium businesses—Azure. With built-in architecture and a wealth of features, businesses of any size can securely manage complex infrastructures, reduce costs, and serve customers better.
This blog will take a closer look at what Microsoft Azure is, what it can do for your business, and how it is an important element of the SBT Partnership.
What is Azure?
Azure is Microsoft’s public cloud platform that is as powerful as it is flexible. It is fast, customizable, affordable, and it can help your business do practically anything. Instead of buying hardware, creating a data center, and supporting it with IT staff, Azure does it all for you. Through Azure, you can host any application you need while only paying for the resources you use when you use them, including internal email, file storage, mobile, and web applications.
But what does this mean for small and medium businesses?
How Azure Is a Perfect Solution for SMBs
All organizations must have an eye for profitability. A business that fails to meet even one of the challenges above faces a difficult road to success. But through an agile, affordable tool like Microsoft Azure, companies can find solutions for any issue.
Scalability – Traditional in-house servers require planning and resources. Organizations that rely solely on in-house servers have a hard time reacting to new business opportunities or scaling back to reduce costs. Azure Cloud allows a business to scale up or down as necessary when needed.
Flexibility – Azure is designed to work with any operating system and integrate with any existing infrastructure. Businesses will find they can do pretty much anything they want with new technology—companies can develop new applications using .Net, JavaScript, PHP, and even create mobile apps. Azure is the pinnacle of cloud computing flexibility, especially for companies that are new to the cloud.
Robust Security and Compliance – Microsoft created Azure to be a secure cloud platform. The Azure Security Center protects data by preventing, detecting, and responding to security threats. Azure holds more certifications than any other cloud service provider, and since it’s from Microsoft, it offers unsurpassed security and comprehensive compliance coverage.
Disaster Recovery – When an SMB finally uses cloud computing, the deciding factor is usually to improve out-of-date disaster recovery procedures. Business continuity should never be ignored, and Azure ensures the availability of servers and applications even when disaster strikes.
Cost Benefits – Instead of shelling out money each month for licenses and subscriptions and making large initial investments in equipment and support, Azure offers servers, networking, software, and storage over the internet. This aspect is important for SMBs with fluctuating demand or start-up companies with no precedent for activity or need.
Maximize Performance – There is always an easier way, and with Microsoft Azure, SMBs finally have a secure cloud platform that can modernize procedures and completely change the workplace. Azure can support remote employees, increase transparency into even small parts of an enterprise, and deliver powerful business intelligence tools that make the most out of all business data. Finally, businesses have the capabilities of large enterprises to keep a firm hold on expenses and revenue.
How to Start Using Azure
Are you ready to modernize your business? The next step is to give SBT Partners a call. Our goal is to modernize your business, integrate the technology your business needs to stay competitive, and help you reduce costs so you can remain profitable. The keys are technology and an IT partner that understands your business and your business goals. Reach out to us today and let SBT show you exactly how Microsoft Azure can change everything.
