azure.html

Microsoft Azure

The Microsoft cloud. Strong in Microsoft-shop enterprises, .NET-aligned, OpenAI integration via Azure OpenAI.

VISIT MICROSOFT AZURE

Quick facts

  • CategoryHyperscaler
  • PricingPaid
  • LicenseProprietary
  • Created2010
  • GitHub starsclosed
  • Edge-readyYes
  • Free tierYes
  • Egress billingExpensive

Bundled services: Azure Functions Azure SQL AKS Azure OpenAI Cosmos DB Storage

What it is

Microsoft Azure is the Microsoft cloud. Strong in enterprises with existing Microsoft 365 / Active Directory / .NET commitments. Azure OpenAI is the enterprise-procurement path to GPT-4 / GPT-5. Azure Functions, Azure SQL, AKS for managed Kubernetes. Pricing and complexity comparable to AWS.

Best for

  • Microsoft-shop enterprises (existing M365, Entra ID, .NET)
  • Teams that need Azure OpenAI for procurement reasons
  • .NET developers with Visual Studio integration

When not to pick it

Skip Azure outside the Microsoft ecosystem. The alignment is the value; outside that audience, AWS or GCP is more straightforward.

My take

Right tool for Microsoft-aligned organisations. Outside that world the alignment cost outweighs the benefit.

Links

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AWS

The biggest cloud. Every service you can imagine, complexity and cost to match. EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS.

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Google Cloud

Google's cloud. Strong on data, ML, and Kubernetes. Smaller than AWS, more developer-friendly.

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If Microsoft Azure is your pick — the next conversation is short

The 30-min call is where your hosting choice becomes a real architecture, a migration plan if you are switching, and a price range you can take to your stakeholders without surprise bills in month 4. Describe your stack, your traffic shape, your budget. I tell you whether Microsoft Azure is genuinely your fit.