Microsoft Azure | Services

Have you ever wondered how Microsoft Azure can pave the way for your digital future? Dive with me into the fascinating ecosystem of Azure – a cloud platform that offers you more than 600 services.

Whether it’s virtual machines, databases or state-of-the-art AI tools: With Azure, you have all IT resources at your fingertips flexibly and according to your needs. See how global availability, world-class security standards, and limitless scalability can revolutionize your IT infrastructure.

What is Microsoft Azure?

Imagine having an entire IT empire at your disposal in the cloud. That’s exactly what Microsoft Azure offers you: a platform that provides you with all IT resources as services. Whether you need virtual machines, databases, or advanced AI solutions, Azure allows you to use these services at scale and on demand. You benefit from worldwide availability, high scalability and first-class security standards. Whether you’re running a small start-up or working in a large enterprise, Azure adapts to your unique needs and helps you create modern, flexible IT architectures.

Top Azure Service Categories

To make it easier for you to choose, I’ve divided Azure services into several categories. This way, you always have an overview and find exactly the solutions that fit your requirements.

1. Compute – Compute power when and how you need it

Do you want to host your applications in the cloud or scale your infrastructure flexibly? Then you need powerful compute resources. Azure offers you a broad portfolio here:

• Virtual machines (VMs):
  You can easily create Windows or Linux-based VMs and automatically adapt them to changing loads. Use VM Scale Sets for dynamic scaling, or opt for specialized options like Azure Dedicated Host and Azure Spot Virtual Machines to save costs—with the small risk of spot VMs occasionally shutting down when capacity is needed.
  
• Container & Serverless:
  Modern applications often rely on container technologies. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) lets you orchestrate containers, while Azure Container Instances and Azure Container Apps allow you to deploy your containers quickly without complicated orchestration. On the other hand, do you want to execute code without having to worry about the infrastructure? Then Azure Functions and Azure Batch are for you.
  
• Other compute services:
  In addition to the classic offerings, you will find specialized services such as Azure Compute Fleet, the Azure VM Image Builder or even Azure Quantum if you want to start experimental projects in quantum computing. In addition, the Azure VMware Solution makes it easier for you to migrate existing VMware environments to the cloud and with Azure Virtual Desktop you can provide secure desktop environments.

2. Storage – Secure and flexible storage

Data is the be-all and end-all in the digital world. Azure offers you numerous storage solutions to store your data securely and efficiently:

• Object storage:
  With Azure Blob Storage, you can store large amounts of unstructured data such as images, videos or backups – quickly and reliably.
• File storage:
  Azure File Storage enables you to move classic file server use cases to the cloud. You can easily integrate file shares via the SMB protocol and thus expand your local environments.
• NoSQL Storage:
  If relational structures are not absolutely necessary, Azure Table Storage will suit you. It is ideal for simple key-value data and tabular data.
• Other storage options:
  In addition, Azure Queue Storage, various variants of Azure Disk Storage (Premium, Standard or Ultra) and Azure Data Lake Storage offer you the perfect basis for big data analyses. For long-term data storage without high costs, Archive Storage is at your disposal. If you need power-hungry file systems, services like Azure NetApp Files, Azure Managed Lustre, or the new Azure Elastic SAN can help.

3. Databases – Intelligent Data Management

Databases are the heart of modern applications. With Azure, you can choose from a variety of fully managed database solutions:

• Relational databases:
  Rely on Azure SQL Database if you are looking for a scalable, highly available and managed database solution. For more demanding scenarios, Azure SQL Managed Instance offers you even more features. If you prefer your own VM, SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines is also available.
  
• NoSQL databases:
  With Azure Cosmos DB, you can ensure that your data is globally distributed and available in near real-time. In addition, there are managed variants for MySQL, PostgreSQL and MariaDB that relieve you of the administrative burden.

• Other database services:
  For caching tasks, use Azure Cache for Redis to speed up your applications. If you want to transfer existing databases to the cloud, the Azure Database Migration Service will help you. Special solutions such as Azure SQL Edge (for IoT scenarios) or Confidential Ledger for tamper-proof transaction records round off the offering.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning – Developing Smart Applications

AI and machine learning are no longer dreams of the future – they are your tool for building intelligent applications:

• Machine Learning Platforms:
  With Azure Machine Learning, you can develop, train, and use ML models productively. The service takes care of the automatic provisioning of computing resources, the versioning of your models and much more.
  
• Cognitive Services:
  If you want to quickly integrate AI capabilities into your applications, Cognitive Services provides you with pre-built APIs for speech, text, images, and video. Use the Face API, Computer Vision, Speech Services, or bot services to get started right away. With Azure AI Language and Azure AI Search, you can also evaluate specific texts or implement powerful search functions.
  
• Other AI services:
  The Azure OpenAI service gives you access to the most modern language models. Azure Personalizer helps you get personalized recommendations in real time, and Azure Metrics Advisor helps you monitor time series data and respond to anomalies early.

DevOps & Developer Tools – Efficient Software Development

To help your development and operations teams work together in the best possible way, Azure offers a comprehensive DevOps portfolio:

• DevOps Platform:
  With Azure DevOps, you can set up a complete CI/CD pipeline – from boards for agile project management to repos for your code and pipelines for automated deliveries. Integration with GitHub makes it easier to collaborate in distributed teams.
  
• Development environments:
  Develop efficiently with Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code. With Microsoft Dev Box, you can deploy development environments in the cloud, so you don’t have to worry about on-premises installations. Other tools such as Azure Load Testing, Azure Managed Grafana, and Playwright Testing ensure that your builds, tests, and deployments run smoothly.

Network & Security – Securely Networked and Protected

A reliable network and high security standards are indispensable in the cloud:

• Network Services:
  With Azure Virtual Network, ExpressRoute and the Azure VPN Gateway, you can ensure that your on-premises data centers and the cloud are optimally connected. Load balancers, application gateways and the Content Delivery Network (CDN) service ensure that your traffic is distributed efficiently. With Azure DNS, Private Link, and other tools like Route Server, Virtual WAN, and NAT Gateway, you’re always in control.
  
• Security services:
  Rely on Azure Firewall, DDoS Protection, and Web Application Firewall (WAF) to secure your infrastructure. With Azure Bastion, you can establish secure RDP/SSH connections, and centrally manage keys and certificates in the Azure Key Vault. You can achieve state-of-the-art identity and access control with Microsoft Entra ID and Managed Identities. Azure Information Protection, Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Sentinel round off the security concept – and with special tools such as Azure Attestation and Security Copilot, you can meet even the most demanding security requirements.

Integration & Communication – Seamlessly Connect Systems

Many companies run different applications that need to communicate with each other. Azure offers you the right integration and communication services for this:

• API and integration:
  Create, manage, and monitor your APIs with API Management. Automate operations with Logic Apps and use Service Bus, Event Grid, and Event Hubs to efficiently distribute messages and events. With Azure Relay, you can create a bridge between your on-premises network and cloud applications.
  
• Communication Services:
  With Azure Communication Services, you can integrate SMS, video, chat, or VOIP/PSTN into your apps. Azure Web PubSub and the SignalR Service are ideal for real-time communication.

Internet of Things (IoT) & Mixed Reality – Intelligent Networking and Immersive Experiences

If you’re looking to integrate physical devices or sensors into your applications, Azure has you covered:

• IoT services:
  With Azure IoT Hub and IoT Central, you can keep track of your device fleet. Azure IoT Edge allows you to process data on-premises, ideal for edge computing scenarios. And with Time Series Insights, you can analyze large amounts of data from IoT applications.
  
• Mixed Reality & Digital Twins:
  Create digital images of real-world environments with Azure Digital Twins. Services like Remote Rendering and Spatial Anchors enhance the AR/VR application experience, while Azure Sphere protects your IoT devices from attacks.

Analytics & Big Data – Analyze Data Intelligently

Collecting data is important – evaluating it is crucial. Azure offers you a comprehensive range of services to integrate, analyze and visually prepare data:

• Data Integration & Analytics:
  With Azure Synapse Analytics, you can perform complex data analysis in a single platform. In addition, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake Analytics, Azure Data Explorer, HDInsight, and Azure Stream Analytics are available to process real-time data.
  
• Business Intelligence:
  With Power BI Embedded and Azure Analysis Services, you can create beautiful dashboards and reports that even non-developers can quickly understand. Microsoft Fabric helps you connect disparate data flows, while Azure Purview gives you a complete view of your data assets and compliance requirements.

Hybrid & Multicloud – Control Your Infrastructure Anywhere

Many companies operate a mix of on-premises data centers, public clouds, and even multiple cloud providers. Azure offers you solutions to centrally manage all these resources:

• Hybrid solutions:
  Azure Arc allows you to merge on-premises and cloud resources into a unified view. With Azure Stack Hub, Edge and HCI, you can bring Azure functionalities directly to your data center. Azure Backup, Azure Site Recovery, and Azure Migrate help you protect data and make your move to the cloud smooth. For regional requirements, you can run Azure Local Cloud workloads.

11. Extended overview of Azure services

Result

Microsoft Azure is much more than just a cloud platform – it’s a flexible, scalable, and secure ecosystem that gives you the right tool for almost any IT scenario. Whether you need scalable compute resources, high-performance storage, intelligent database solutions, or innovative AI and machine learning tools, Azure has a solution for every need. What’s particularly impressive is how the platform fits seamlessly into hybrid and multicloud environments, providing optimal support for both cloud-native and traditional applications.

My advice to you: Take advantage of the many possibilities that Azure offers you and always keep up to date with the latest developments. This ensures that you always have your finger on the pulse and can exploit the full potential of your IT infrastructure.

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