Azure

• Microsoft's public cloud computing platform

• Over 200 individual products and services

• Build, run, and manage applications on Microsoft's global infrastructure

  • IaaS - Infrastructure as a Service

    • Virtual servers

    • You are responsible for maintaining the OS

  • PaaS - Platform as a Service (managed)

    • Cloud vendor maintains infrastructure for you

    • You focus on application code and data

  • SaaS - Software as a Service (managed)

    • Vendor provides a full software stack

• Allows you to supplement or replace existing on-premise computing services

• Main advantage: pay-as-you-go pricing

  • no up-front commitment for resources (though, in the long run prepaying saves money)

  • billed by the second for using resources