1 What is Microsoft Azure?
This chapter covers
- Overview of Microsoft Azure
- The benefits of using cloud computing and Azure
- What you can and can’t do with Azure
- How to interact with Azure services
- Creating a free Azure account
Azure is a web-based platform consisting of hundreds of different services that allows anyone, with any budget, to jump straight into creating and publishing internet services and applications. Cloud services for computing, networking and storage are readily available, as well as hundreds of services that are built on top. These services can be used for simple tasks such as hosting a web site or storing files, as well as incredibly complex tasks analyzing vast amounts of data to send rockets into space and solve how photosynthesis works. Everything on Azure is accessed via the Internet using standard tools and protocols. Azure Virtual Machines running Windows Server or Linux, and Azure Storage are two of the most used services on Azure, and like most services on Azure they integrate with other Azure services with relative ease.
Azure is available globally, which means Microsoft has built data centers in many regions around the world. When you create an application, it doesn’t matter if you create it in Australia or Norway[1]; It is the same approach and commands you use. This makes it very simple to create products that are close to your customers, but that scale globally.