Why Cloud is the best option for startups?
One of the biggest challenges for start-ups is the lack of resources to procure and manage IT resources. A start-up with only 10 or 20 employees usually end-up dealing with an avalanche of IT tasks like website hosting, data storage, BYOD, CRM applications, numerous communication channels, online collaboration tools, payment processing and more. That’s where Cloud solutions can come into action.
Cloud gives start-ups a level-playing field. They get access to all the technologies that were previously beyond reach and can focus on their core business. Start-ups need not be concerned about the underlying platform, building infrastructure, employing experts to install and update software, manage or run servers/data centers or maintaining service or applications – all these are the KRAs (Key Responsibilities Areas) of the Cloud application and storage service provider.
What is Microsoft Azure?
Microsoft Azure is a Public Cloud computing platform that offers an assortment of Cloud services like computing, analytics, storage and networking. It provides Platform as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service and Web site hosting solutions on Cloud. Microsoft Azure is one of the most popular Cloud services in the market now.
Why Microsoft Azure is a dream for start-ups?
With Microsoft Azure solutions, enterprises can enjoy a host of integrated Cloud services like analytics, computing, database, mobile, networking, storage and web. Through BizSpark for start-ups, Microsoft Azure is offering three years of free software, service, tech support and Azure Cloud Services.
What can start-ups achieve with Microsoft Azure?
Build a virtual machine for high-end batch processing and remote application access
Adopt Database as a Service with SQL Server capabilities for migrating database applications to the Cloud
Stream analytics to gain real-time insights from devices, sensors, infrastructure and applications
Create dedicated private networks for traffic management, load balancing and Domain Name System (DNS) hosting
Utilize media services for on-demand encoding, storing, streaming and indexing media playback files
Rely on BizTalk services for seamless integration of Cloud and the enterprise
Implement hybrid integration for server backup and site recovery, connecting private and public Cloud
Develop a security center for preventing, detecting and responding to threats with increased visibility
Connect, monitor, and control IoT assets for analyzing IoT data from sensors and other devices via Azure IoT Hub
There are many more solutions that Microsoft Azure provide and cater to a variety of business requirements. Since Azure is a flexible cloud platform, enterprises obtain the agility to grow their business with greater efficiency and be more responsive to change.
Microsoft Azure Solutions and benefits that can boost start-ups’ business function:
Development options for both web & mobile apps: Users can develop web and mobile apps for any platform and any device, and can use a variety of other languages like ASP, ASP.net, PHP, Python, or Node.js. Websites can be launched quickly using the application gateway. Moreover, Microsoft Azure provisions the monitoring of web and mobile apps.
Simple and secure data storage and backup solutions: Users can easily store unstructured text and binary data like images, video, and audio. Storage is highly available and massively scalable. Importing and exporting features enable users to move data quickly in a reliable environment. Moreover, it also avails Hybrid Cloud storage with exceptional data security features.
Better performance with SQL Database: The in-built SQL database functionality of Microsoft Azure supports massive scale-out and flexible data management. Start-ups can own data warehouse with enterprise-class features. They don’t need to buy an SQL Server license. They just have to pay for the database for the month or even for the days that they intend to use it.
Top-notch analytics for operational insights rendered in a simple way: Analytics and insights are key to business development. But for start-ups, it is extremely difficult to make business sense when they handle big data. That’s where Microsoft Azure’s HDInsight helps enterprises to manage and analyze any amount of data at a time. Start-ups can easily integrate HDInsight with Excel to visualize and uncover business insights.
Automation, API Management and Scheduler make work easy: Start-ups can easily automate tasks and process with Microsoft Azure. Simplified features such as Scheduler can run both simple and complex recurring schedules with ease. And API Management allows users to create and run a variety of APIs, and publish it to stakeholders like partners, developers and employees.
Better mobile managed services: No start-ups can afford to ignore mobile if they want to grow their business. Microsoft Azure Mobile Engagement allows users to maximize mobile apps usage, retention and monetization.
Massive savings with easy IT Management: Whether it is installing or upgrading software, managing data or file servers or building new applications – everything can be done in a snap without engaging internal resources or hiring a team of tech experts. For example, start-ups can launch a Windows Server or a Linux OS while using Microsoft Azure solutions. Azure helps start-ups save their working capital to a large extent and also allows employees to focus on their core business development.
These are some of the key features of Microsoft Azure and the business benefits that it brings to the start-ups. There are many more attributes and benefits that start-ups can draw from the Microsoft Azure ecosystem.
Please contact CMS IT for more information about Windows Azure, and how the solution can transform business for startups.