What is Azure? Easy-to-understand explanation for beginners

We will explain in detail the mechanism and features of Azure.

How Azure works

Many cloud services, including Azure, are pay-as-you-go systems where you pay only for what you use. You can freely combine and use the necessary functions such as IT infrastructure such as servers networks and development platforms. Azure offers a wide range of IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) and PaaS (Platform as a Service) services.

IaaS is a service that provides IT infrastructure such as server hardware resources (CPU, memory, storage) and networks via the Internet.

PaaS is a service that provides a platform for running applications over the Internet.

For example, renting land is IaaS, and renting a house is PaaS.

All Azure services are deployed on the cloud, so users can select only the services they need and use them on their devices.

Features of Azure

Azure’s unique feature is that all services are deployed on the cloud. Since it does not require any equipment such as a server, it can be used anywhere via the Internet as long as you have a computer. In addition, costs such as server purchase costs and data center usage costs can be reduced, leading to cost reductions.

Many parts are available for free, making it easy to implement even for companies with limited funds. An Azure free account comes with ¥20,000 in credit for the first 30 days and 12 months of free access to popular Azure services. Other than that, some services can always be used free of charge, such as free monthly data transfers up to 5GB.

The major difference from other cloud services is that even in the unlikely event that a problem occurs, Japanese laws will apply. For example, the governing law and competent court for AWS is the United States, but for Azure, the governing law is Japanese law, and the competent court is the Tokyo District Court. This is particularly reassuring for major Japanese companies.

Advantages of using Azure

There are three main advantages to using Azure.

Advantage 1 of Azure: Payment can be made in Japanese yen

Microsoft, which provides Azure, is headquartered in the United States, but monthly usage fees can be paid in Japanese yen. If the payment is based on US dollars, it may be affected by exchange rates, so being able to pay in Japanese yen is a big advantage.

By the way, payment is by credit card only. We do not support direct debit or bank transfers, and a credit card is required. However, the fact that it supports payment in the familiar yen is a big advantage.

Advantage 2 of Azure: Smooth integration and migration with existing services

It allows for smooth integration and migration with applications such as Office365, a cloud-based service provided by Microsoft, and SharePoint. This is an advantage because we are the same company.

By the way, Office 365 has a feature called “Azure”. It is called “Azure AD” and is a service provided by Microsoft that manages access and ID. In this way, Office365 functions on Azure, so if you are using Office365, you are inevitably using Azure.

Advantage 3 of Azure: High compatibility with Windows-based on-premises servers

Microsoft has great influence in the IT industry. In addition to PCs, many on-premises servers also use Windows. Therefore, another advantage is that it is highly compatible with Windows-based on-premises servers.

Additionally, by using Azure stack, which was announced in 2015, you can run not only Microsoft Azure but also functions such as IaaS and PaaS on-premises.

Main services of Azure

We will introduce the main services provided by Azure one by one.

Azure AI

It is the latest AI tool that allows customization such as conversational AI and machine learning.

Azure AI can be broadly divided into three categories: “Machine Learning”, “Knowledge Mining”, and “AI Applications and Agents”.

The following services make it easy to build, train, and deploy machine learning models, analyze large amounts of documents and images, and create bot services.

・Azure Machine Learning

・Azure Databricks

・ONNX

・Azure Search

・Form recognizer

・Cognitive Services

・Azure Bot Service

DevOps services

A group of platform services for efficient development and operation. Strongly supports efficient and rapid software development. Azure’s DevOps services include the following services:

・Azure DevOps

・Azure Pipelines

・Azure Boards

・Azure Artifacts

・Azure Repos

・Azure Test Plans

・Azure Monitor

Azure Active Directory

Azure Active Directory is a platform that provides highly secure access and comprehensive identity protection.

Single sign-on and integration of IDs with apps and services using development tools can be achieved.

Active Directory is a user and computer management system developed by Microsoft. It is often used in traditional on-premises environments, and also ensures security and achieves single sign-on in mixed environments with cloud services.

Storage service

This service is used to secure the storage necessary for virtual machines and to migrate data.

“I want to secure storage for virtual machines”

“I want highly secure file sharing on the cloud.”

“I want to back up my virtual machine”

Services are provided to meet user needs.

・Azure Backup

・Avere vFXT for Azure

・Managed Disks

・File Storage

・Disk Storage

Web service

A group of services that allow you to efficiently develop and scale web applications. Services are provided to easily create cloud apps and search services.

・App Service

・Azure Maps

・Content Delivery Network

・Azure Search

・Web Apps

・API Apps

computing services

A group of services for provisioning virtual machines and containerizing applications. You can scale your virtual machines as needed and get integrated tools for developing and managing containerized applications.

・Azure Kubernetes Service

・Container Instances

・Virtual Machines

・Azure Service Fabric

・Azure Functions

・Batch

security services

This is a group of services that can quickly discover vulnerabilities through analysis and investigation, and quickly respond in the event of an attack. Services are provided to integrate cyber-attack countermeasures and security management.

・Security Center

・Azure Information Protection

・Key Vault

・VPN Gateway

・Application Gateway

・Azure DDoS Protection

Why not try Azure, which has many types and benefits?

Azure is a cloud service provided by Microsoft. We provide IT infrastructure and platforms such as IaaS and PaaS on the cloud. Services such as virtual machines and machine learning tools are provided, and various services can be used over the Internet.

It is also attractive that it can be linked with existing services and migrated from on-premises to the cloud smoothly, and supports payments based on Japanese yen.