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Starting with the Microsoft Azure Cloud

Over 200 products and cloud services on Azure Cloud are intended to support non-profits in developing new solutions. Utilising your preferred tools and frameworks, you can create, execute, and manage apps across various clouds, on-premises, and at the edge.

The countless advantages of cloud computing are harder for one to overlook. Organisations may become more flexible and agile thanks to the cloud, which also makes it easier for them to scale up or down. It also lowers or eliminates the expense of expensive onsite equipment and provides secure access to data and applications, boosting remote work and flexibility. The key to the cloud for businesses using Microsoft information systems is Azure.

What is Azure?

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform that enables non-profit organisations to easily design, deploy, and manage cloud-based applications and services. It provides enterprises with all of the freedom that comes with cloud computing without the expenditure of costly onsite infrastructure (such as servers), upgrades, or upkeep.

Azure is delivered by Microsoft in a variety of ways:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): IaaS allows users to run applications and operating systems on systems with minimal maintenance and cheap operating costs.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): a full development and deployment platform that includes resources to assist you in developing and deploying anything from simple applications that use the cloud to complex programmes. Select which cloud resources you require and only spend on what you require.

Software as a Service (SaaS): This is a comprehensive software service that connects customers to cloud-based apps through the internet. SaaS is exemplified by Microsoft 365.

Basic Features

Azure is a well-known, open, and adaptable platform for development, data storage, service hosting, and service administration.

Storage

Azure is a cloud storage solution for cutting-edge applications that is designed to meet user scalability demands. It enables you to: 

  • Process and store hundreds of terabytes of data
  • Access application data from anywhere backup
  • Manage file shares for cloud or on-Site deployments complementing or replacing on-site file servers or NAS devices
  • Provide consistent messaging between application components

Computing

Azure Platform provides computing services such as app hosting, development, and deployment. It consists of the following elements:

  • server hosting, such as domain controllers, file archives, and RDP servers
  • scale sets, allowing users to quickly generate thousands of comparable virtual machines
  • Storage and administration of container images across all Azure deployment types.

Analytics

Azure provides a comprehensive range of smart solutions for data warehouses, big data analytics, and real-time streaming:

  • On-demand analytics using Azure data lakes to simplify big data
  • Real-time data stream analysis from millions of IoT devices.

These are the primary services that many businesses employ on Azure, however the platform includes over 500 services, including:

  • Accessibility and scale without the need to build or handle down to the fibre
  • Traffic management for Azure App Gateway
  • AI development spans the cloud and the edge.

Advantages an Overview

Among the advantages of Azure are:

  • Insights to aid decision making
  • Support for a wide range of operating systems
  • Industry-leading security
  • Integration with your existing it infrastructure

Ability to scale up with the expansion of your firm.

Azure’s advantages go beyond cost reduction. The combination of Azure with Office 365 can substantially simplify the process of administering particular technologies such as Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Active Directory, and SharePoint.

The ease of use

It is now easier than ever to design and global deploy apps that are compatible    with all popular online and mobile platforms using Azure

Flexibility

Azure supports practically any operating system, language, tool, or framework.

The cost-effectiveness

Because Azure is a subscription-based service, you only have to pay for the services you use.

Security and Reliability

Azure offers a 99.5% availability SLA, which means nearly no downtime, as well as       24/7 technical assistance.

Azure is the first solution to use ISO 27018, the latest international standard for   cloud security, as it is built on the most prominent security process technology Security Development Lifecycle (SDL). This platform safeguards, secures, and protects data.

Performance and scalability

Adjust computational resources as needed (scalable during peak hours).

Capabilities for hybridization

Because Azure is a subscription-based service, you only have to pay for the services you use.

How to Begin with Azure

If you utilise Office 365, have many of your employees use Surface computers, or are otherwise very Microsoft-focused, it may make more commercial sense to use a Microsoft framework for your cloud processes.

Here are some questions to ask oneself to determine how easy it will be to implement a new cloud system:

  • Which system provider will provide you with the most assistance?
  • Are training materials available?
  • Do you have any partners who back you up? If so, what do they use?
  • Are the account teams working together to provide services to your team to get you started?
  • Are you or will you be enrolled in any programmes to help you get started on your journey?

Access your Azure Cloud Credits via ConnectingUp.

Approved not-for-profit customers get a $3,500 USD Azure credit each year from Microsoft, which can be used to purchase the whole spectrum of Azure cloud services and solutions for database administration, website hosting, data backup, and more.

Learn more about Microsoft’s Azure for Nonprofits programme, including case studies that demonstrate how other groups have leveraged the cloud’s capabilities to further their purpose. For further information, please contact us at the Hub.

Partners in Azure

Microsoft-selected Azure partnerships are ready to supply solutions ranging from data and infrastructure management to artificial intelligence and chatbots to help your non-profit become more efficient and inventive. Find a regional partner here.