As a business leader, you’ve no doubt heard about cloud computing and its proliferation throughout business technology environments. Companies large and small have been adopting cloud in varying capacities for well over a decade. Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in particular have increasingly discovered the benefits of migrating to the cloud—research from 2022 found that 53% of SMBs spend more than $1.2 million annually on the cloud.
But if your business is at the beginning of a cloud journey, it can be difficult to know where to start. Point Alliance has seen SMBs have the greatest success migrating to the cloud by choosing Microsoft Azure. In this blog, we dive into what exactly Azure is, how it works, and why it’s the prime choice for cloud-forward SMBs.
What Is Microsoft Azure?
Azure is a public cloud computing platform, and as such, it leverages virtualization technology that enables it to deliver the computing power of on-premise servers to businesses without requiring the on-premise, physical technology. (For an in-depth technical explanation of virtualized hardware and cloud computing in general, check out this resource from Microsoft.)
So, what does that mean? It means Azure is an online platform that businesses use to access and manage resources like data. As Microsoft says, “in a public cloud, you share the same hardware, storage, and network devices with other organizations or cloud ‘tenants,’ and you access services and manage your account using a web browser.” In an on-premise server environment, your physical servers house your data on your business’ property. With Azure, you have no need for physical servers or on-site hardware in order to power your networking and computing needs. You also gain benefits on-premise servers cannot provide.
What Do You Get with Microsoft Azure?
Cost Savings
For starters, you no longer have to budget for the costs associated with hardware. You do not need to pay for physical servers and racks—or even the electricity and IT personnel associated with these expenses. In a cloud model with Azure, you only pay for the service you use and often on a subscription basis. You’ll move from a CapEx model to an OpEx one—establishing more predictable IT expenses.
Hands-Off Maintenance
Microsoft handles the maintenance of your computing resources. You don’t need to stay on top of important upgrades or pay for the hardware and software to support them. Microsoft upgrades your cloud platform as they make updates, so you always have the latest version without disrupting your business.
Worry-Free Security and Reliability
In an on-premise model, your business is responsible for the security of your servers and the data stored on them. With Azure, your data security is backed by Microsoft’s world-renowned cybersecurity measures, protocols, and practices. You don’t have to hire IT security experts, and you sleep easy at night knowing you have the industry’s top cloud provider safeguarding your data. Azure also has infrastructure that ensures against failure, so you’re guaranteed near-perfect uptime.
Near-Unlimited Scalability
The sky’s the limit when it comes to scaling on cloud computing. Since you pay for the services you use as you use them, you can add or subtract capacity whenever you need to. The scalability benefit is not only important for growing SMBs but also ones with seasonal needs such as fluctuating seats for customer support.
Ask Us All Your Azure Questions
We know the cloud computing adoption process is a daunting one, but Point Alliance is an expert in bringing SMBs through smooth transitions to the cloud. The benefits we’ve discussed here are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to empowering SMBs to save money, drive up productivity, and scale for the future. Get in touch today to learn more.
