What is Azure Infrastructure as a Service?

In the increasingly competitive digital age, one-way businesses can stay ahead of the curve is by taking advantage of cloud computing platforms such as Microsoft Azure.  

Microsoft Azure is a recognized leader in cloud computing and provides sustainable solutions that are future-ready for on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. Azure’s extensive suite of services includes storage, web, and virtual desktop infrastructure solutions as well as cloud-native network security and web application firewall (WAF) to protect your apps and resources. Azure also offers seamless integration with Microsoft products like Office 365. 

If your business or organization is interested in setting up a cloud computing environment with the IaaS model, Microsoft Azure is a great option for trusted, cost-effective cloud services. In this guide, we discuss the main benefits of Azure IaaS and how migrating to Azure can impact your business. 

What is Infrastructure as a Service? 

Using the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model allows you to migrate to a cloud platform that provides the IT infrastructure you need for cloud computing, such as servers, storage, and networking resources that you can use on demand. You can configure these resources to suit the needs of your business on a pay-as-you-go model in which you only pay for the resources you use. 

IaaS cloud computing saves your business the cost and trouble of managing physical infrastructure while allowing for easy scalability, flexibility, collaboration, data accessibility, and strong security. You are only responsible for managing your operating systems, applications, and data within the cloud environment you establish using the provider’s available resources. 

Benefits of Azure IaaS 

Using Azure IaaS offers businesses and organizations flexibility, allowing them to adapt quickly to market conditions within their industry. Azure IaaS makes it easy to configure and decommission cloud environments as well as scale their resources up or down when necessary. The automation features also allow businesses to easily manage certain tasks which saves time and effort. 

The following are the main benefits of Azure IaaS: 

Cost-Effective 

One of the biggest advantages of Azure IaaS is that it is a cost-effective cloud computing solution. Your business can take advantage of the IT infrastructure provided by Azure and they offer a pay-as-you-go model, so you only pay for the resources you use. This allows you to save money by using less resources during periods of low demand, and you can take advantage of more resources during high-demand periods within a reasonable budget. 

Azure also offers cost saving plans that can help you save more on your Azure workloads. 

Enhanced Security 

Microsoft invests in top-tier security features to protect your data and prevent unauthorized users from accessing your network. The multi-layered security features, including Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Azure DDoS Protection, are integrated into the hardware and firmware components and the built-in controls make them easy to configure. Azure also features real-time global cybersecurity intelligence that helps quickly detect threats. 

Their team of security experts monitors operations 24 hours a day to ensure that your network is always protected.  

Reliable Services that Meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs) 

Microsoft offers service level agreements (SLAs) with Azure to ensure that they provide the best possible services. You do not need to maintain or upgrade the software or hardware or troubleshoot any issues. With the right SLAs in place, you can trust Microsoft to swiftly address and resolve any issues and ensure the reliability of your infrastructure. 

Improved Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery 

Ensuring business continuity and disaster recovery requires infrastructure and staff that can be rather expensive. The right SLAs from Azure can reduce this cost as Azure provides the infrastructure that preserves business continuity and allows you to access data and applications when there is a disaster or an outage. 

Fast Innovation 

If you launch a new server or app within Azure, you can expect the computing infrastructure to be ready in just minutes or hours. Azure provides the infrastructure so you can quickly deploy new apps to your users. 

Transitioning to Azure IaaS 

If you are planning on transitioning to Azure IaaS, the first step is to assess your current IT infrastructure and the costs. Azure Migrate is a tool available from Azure that can thoroughly assess your on-premises workloads and help you determine what should be moved to Azure and what can stay on-premises. This tool can also help you estimate the cost of moving your workloads to Azure. 

Once you have determined which of your operations can be migrated to Azure, you can start planning the transition. You should decide which Azure services you need for your operations and develop a strategy to move your data to the cloud. It is also important to anticipate potential challenges including compatibility issues between your current applications and Azure as well as possible downtime while the migration is taking place. 

Azure Migrate can provide insights for a seamless transition process and identify possible challenges that you may experience during the migration. This tool can also offer migration strategies based on your specific scenario to mitigate risks and ensure a seamless transition. 

After you complete the migration, review your configuration and settings in Azure to ensure that you are set up to optimize performance based on your needs and save costs. You should continue to monitor and manage your infrastructure and track the performance using the monitoring tools available within Azure. 

Migrate to Azure IaaS with PSM 

Microsoft Azure’s Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model offers businesses a cost-effective, secure, and scalable cloud computing solution that supports innovation and business continuity. By leveraging Azure’s industry leading security features, flexible infrastructure, and reliable service level agreements (SLAs), organizations can enhance operational efficiency while reducing the burden of managing physical IT infrastructure. Transitioning to Azure IaaS requires careful planning, but with tools like Azure Migrate, businesses can ensure a seamless migration process. Embracing Azure IaaS enables businesses to stay competitive in a fast-evolving digital landscape while optimizing resources for future growth. 

While tools like Azure Migration can help businesses and organizations ease the transition to Azure IaaS, you may still encounter challenges when it comes to configuring your new cloud environment or migrating your data. Our professionals at PSM can help you with your migration to Azure IaaS with our managed Azure and Azure consulting services. We are well versed in the capabilities and features of Azure and can help you set up your cloud environment to best accommodate the needs of your business. Our experts will ensure a seamless migration and protect your cloud environment and data by maximizing security, backing up your data, and putting a disaster recovery plan in place. 

For more information about how our professionals at PSM can help your business migrate to Azure IaaS, call us at (312) 940-7830.