Table 9.1 shows you all of the different components and how IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS can be used in the cloud. Table 9.1 also shows the benefits of each of these components when deciding to use the cloud.
TABLE 9.1 IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS benefits and features
| Feature | IaaS | PaaS | SaaS |
| Up- front Costs | No up-f ront costs. Pay only for what is consumed. | No up- front costs. Pay only for what is consumed. | No up- front costs. Users pay for a subscription, usually on a monthly or annual basis. |
| User Ownership | User is responsible for the purchase, installation, configuration, and management of their own software, operating systems, middleware, and applications. | User is responsible for the development of their own applications. But they are not responsible for managing the server or infrastructure. | Users just use the application software. Users are not responsible for the maintenance or management of that software. |
| Cloud Provider Ownership | The cloud provider is responsible for making sure that the cloud infrastructure is available for the users. This includes the virtual machines, storage, and networking. | The cloud provider is responsible for the operating system management, network, and service configurations. Cloud providers deliver a complete managed platform on which to run the application. | The cloud provider is responsible for the provision, management, and maintenance of the application software. |
Understanding Azure Benefits
Before you decide to use Azure in your organization, you must determine whether it’s a good choice for your environment. Azure is a consumption- based model. This means that the more services you use in Azure, the more it will cost your organization.
But this can be a benefit for your organization. You only pay for what you use. So, your organization can move the entire network to the cloud or only move certain components to help save money.
Therefore, it’s important that you understand the benefits and services that you get from using Azure. That’s where we will begin. Let’s take a look at some of the Azure benefits.
Azure Benefits
Microsoft Azure offers an organization many benefits. Choosing the options that are right for your organization will depend on your organization’s budget and circumstances. Azure can offer your organization many advantages, but we will look at just some of the main ones.
Understanding Azure Benefits
Application Development Speed
When people think of the cloud and speed, they may think about how much lag they may encounter or how quickly they can access their information.
But when talking about the speed of Microsoft Azure, we’re referring to how well Azure performs. Azure allows your teams to quickly produce, test, and deploy applications. Azure allows you to upgrade service plans or add new features quickly. You can rapidly recover data and use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to process vast amounts of data, to analyze that data, and to receive recommendations.
Azure provides automated solutions to quickly speed up development of applications and also provides real- time solutions. Azure provides templates and prebuilt tools to build applications in minimal time. You don’t have to create applications from scratch.
Enhanced Flexibility
Another benefit of Microsoft Azure is the enhanced flexibility. Azure has three features with enhanced flexibility:
Flexible Service Levels Azure provides flexible scalability services to its cloud storage so users can safely and easily access it. Companies only pay for what they use, making it easier to change tiers to maximize your budget.
Flexible Storage Locations Microsoft has over 40 datacenters around the world for you to use. This allows you to back up your data in more than one location.
Flexible Coding Languages Azure uses many familiar coding tools, such as ASP, .NET, Visual Studio, Visual Basic, C, and C++. These coding tools allow you to develop applications in a language you may be more comfortable with.
Integrated Delivery Pipeline
Azure has a broad integrated delivery pipeline. This end- to- end solution ranges from the development of an application to its deployment. Azure ensures flexibility because all the tools are embedded in the same environment.
Disaster Recovery
Azure covers all aspects of disaster recovery to quickly resolve issues such as backups and virtual systems testing.
Azure can help shield critical data and applications by offering an end- to- end backup and disaster recovery solution that can be integrated with your on- premise backup solutions:
Backups Azure provides a backup solution that can be used by enabling the Data Recovery option. You will be provided with the option to either use Azure Backup on- premises or on the cloud. You no longer need to have your own servers to keep your data safe, and accessing backups on the cloud takes much less time than using traditional methods of tapes and onsite servers.
Virtual Systems Testing Azure provides testing capabilities that allow you to test your application before launching it. You can run dev- test copies without disturbing users. This allows you to test new versions of applications using your existing live data to allow for a smooth transition. Azure provides a wide range of connections to increase performance and usage by using environments such as virtual private networks, delivery nodes, clear caches, and ExpressRoute networks.
Security
Security is extremely important. Azure can help safeguard your backup environment by using built- in security tools for hybrid and cloud environments. Azure also provides compliance by using wide- range security and privacy regulations. It aids with security by using a single sign- on feature that can be utilized by all users.
Microsoft uses a multitude of compliance certificates, including Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and IRS. You can also protect your data by using multifactor authentication, strict password requirements, and training.
Azure will send out notifications when you need to upgrade or enable a new protection feature. One feature included with Azure is Key Vault. This feature will safeguard cryptographic keys and other secrets that are used by cloud applications and services.
With Microsoft’s Defender for Cloud (previously called Azure Security Center) you can assess the security posture of your cloud resources and threat protection. You can even assess your security standings, which will give you a secure score that rates you on your actions and provide tips to make your environment more secure.
Defender for Cloud fills three vital requirements when managing the security of your resources either in the cloud or on- premises:
Continuous Assessment Allows you to understand your current security posture by providing a secure score. This score tells you your current security situation. The higher the score, the lower the risk level.
Defend This will detect and resolve threats to your resources and services. This will provide security alerts. Defender for Cloud will detect threats to your resources and workloads. These alerts will appear in the Azure portal or can be emailed.
Secure Harden all connected resources and services. This will offer security recommendations to improve your posture.