5 Microsoft Azure solutions to keep your business running smoothly and reliably

In recent years, cloud technologies have become an inseparable part of business processes, allowing companies to focus on their main goals and achieve them more efficiently with access to powerful computing resources. Read the article to find out why now is a good time to migrate to the Microsoft Azure cloud and what benefits the company gets from this.

2022 has finally shown that the business environment is rapidly changing and encourages the search and creation of new strategies to meet the following challenges:

• possibility of centralized data storage and their analysis by various indicators,
• renting virtual servers to increase or decrease the amount of computing resources depending on the needs of the company,
• creation of a step-by-step plan in case of failure of servers and other components of the infrastructure due to poor service quality, equipment malfunction, power failure or damage to the data center,
• creating conditions for remote interaction between teams with the ability to collaborate on documents and in applications from any device,
• organizing secure access for employees to corporate information and reducing the risk of data leakage.

The introduction of Azure cloud technologies will help solve these issues if you choose the right ones from 200+ solutions. We suggest considering the following.

Azure Synapse Analytics – an analytics service for real-time data processing and analysis

In the modern world, any company is working on countless data sources. Therefore, a business needs fast and high-quality analytics for successful operation.

Azure Synapse Analytics is a built-in analytics service that provides the ability to process large amounts of data and analyze it using Microsoft Azure cloud resources. It combines the functions of streaming data processing, Data Warehousing and real-time data analysis.

In addition, using the solution allows you to save and manage data at scale using various integrated services such as Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake Storage, and Azure SQL Data Warehouse.

Key benefits of using Azure Synapse Analytics for business:

• High scalability and configuration flexibility according to business needs.
• Increasing the speed of data processing through the use of a distributed architecture.
• Reduced processing and storage costs by optimizing resource usage.
• A wide range of built-in tools and technologies for working with data.
• Ensuring data security through various Microsoft solutions.
• Reduction of data processing time.
• Through integration with Azure Machine Learning, you can instantly analyze data.
• Support for various data formats, which makes it easy to integrate Azure Synapse Analytics with existing systems.
• Ensuring high availability and reliability of the solution through the use of various data backup mechanisms.

Azure Server Migration to migrate critical IT infrastructure to cloud servers

Azure Server Migration is a solution that allows companies to migrate their on-premises servers, applications, virtual machines, databases, and other resources to the Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure with minimal disruption.

This allows the company to reduce the cost of maintaining its own infrastructure and increase business agility by rapidly scaling as needed.

Key benefits of using Azure Server Migration for business:

• Migration to Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure allows building solutions with extremely high availability of 99.99% without requiring significant investments in equipment and data centers.
• Azure Server Migration allows you to migrate large amounts of data and workloads, making it possible to scale business processes to meet your company’s needs.
• A pay-as-you-go model makes it easy to change capacity based on business needs or peak demand. In addition, full remote administration allows you to quickly and efficiently perform scheduled updates and maintenance work.
• The solution provides a simple and easy migration process to reduce the time and effort required to migrate workloads.
• Using Azure Server Migration allows you to instantly migrate virtual machines from a physical server to Azure. This greatly increases the speed of the migration, as it allows the process to start almost instantly.

Azure Server Migration is the ideal solution for migrating critical IT infrastructure to the cloud with minimal risk and cost.

Azure Site Recovery – duplication of infrastructure with the ability to quickly recover

Even the most reliable IT systems are not immune from possible failures, so you need to have an action plan to resume the work of the company. Azure Site Recovery with infrastructure replication in the cloud allows you to quickly restore the operation of the company in emergency situations, which reduces the risk of data loss.

Azure Site Recovery is a solution that helps companies plan and manage recovery from unpredictable events such as natural disasters, technical failures, or cyberattacks.

Key benefits of using Azure Site Recovery for business:

• Protecting data from loss by storing backups in the Azure cloud.
• Instant data recovery in case of unforeseen situations such as natural disasters, data leaks or emergencies.
• Reduced cost of data recovery and system operation.
• Automation of the recovery process and uninterrupted operation.
• Reduced time to upgrade systems and applications, allowing businesses to get back up and running faster and continue to serve customers.
• Ensuring data security, protecting against cyber attacks and maintaining data confidentiality.
• Ease of use: Azure Site Recovery is a highly customizable solution that allows the user to quickly adapt and focus on their core business.

To use Azure Site Recovery, you need to make a full clone of the system in the cloud and set up synchronization so that the data is constantly updated. When an emergency occurs, just press the red button and switch to working in the cloud. After the main system is resumed, you can return to it or continue working in the cloud.

Azure Virtual Desktop for creating and managing virtual desktops in the cloud

In a world where business has turned into a remote form of work due to COVID-19 and the full-scale war, many employees are forced to work from anywhere, at different times and from different devices running Windows, Linux, iOS, MacOS or Android operating systems. These conditions make it difficult to administer devices and enforce security policies.

Azure Virtual Desktop (formerly known as Windows Virtual Desktop) is a desktop and application virtualization solution offered by Microsoft Azure. It allows users to work with their applications and files on any device, almost anywhere with access to the Internet.

In addition, there is the ability to flexibly change the capacity of each desktop, configure the necessary data and application protection system, as well as provide temporary access to the necessary resources to external contractors or auditors.

Azure Virtual Desktop has an advantage over similar solutions due to its ease of deployment, which is ensured by its availability out of the box and the minimum need for configuration.

Key benefits of using Azure Virtual Desktop

• Users can work from any location and device.
• Azure Virtual Desktop integrates with all known cloud and on-premises tools, making it easy and fast to migrate work environments to the cloud.
• Use of Azure Virtual Desktop allows you to reduce the cost of maintenance and hardware upgrades.
• The solution provides a high level of security and data protection through encryption and user identification.
• Workstations in Azure Virtual Desktop start quickly and without delay thanks to a high-speed connection to cloud servers.
• The solution can be scaled for users, making it easy to add new features.
• Has an intuitive interface.

Learn more about Azure Virtual Desktop in our article: What is Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and how Azure Virtual Desktop can help organize your workplace.

Read the article

Security Identity – a set of solutions to ensure secure user identification and control access to confidential information

End-to-end security in the cloud is necessary, comprehensive, and contains many components. The lack of a basic level of protection increases the likelihood of data leakage and can lead to various consequences: blocking of the IT infrastructure, loss of corporate information and personal data of customers. All these are financial and reputational risks that can be avoided.

Therefore, the IT security of any company begins with the protection of user identification. Microsoft Security includes Security Identity solutions for managing identity and providing appropriate levels of access to corporate data and applications.

This reduces the burden on the IT department, in particular, reduces the number of settings on the administrator’s side, allows users to independently recover the password, and also provides monitoring and notification of suspicious activities.

For a consultation on implementing Security Identity services, follow the link.

How secure is your company from cyber threats?

To answer this question, take a free test and get an independent assessment of your company’s IT security level and recommendations to help strengthen your existing strategy.

Summary

The use of Microsoft Azure solutions can ensure business continuity, open up opportunities for scaling, while the company pays only for the used cloud resources.

Microsoft together with SMART business continue to support the development of Ukrainian businesses and offer their customers preferential terms: an 80% discount on the cost of Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Security solutions. The offer is valid until November 30, 2023 and applies to new and existing customers whose tenant is registered in Ukraine.

To take advantage of the discount and find out other favorable conditions for cooperation with SMART business, order a consultation.