F.A.Q. for
Microsoft Azure Cloud

What are the Benefits of Azure Storage?

The Hybrid Cloud in Azure is the quick and reliable shared storage location in Azure’s cloud. The ability to store files for significantly less than competitors which are accessible from anywhere. For the purposes of this e-mail (As this answer can get quite complicated), I would specify that it is for customers who want to get file shares and server files into a storage environment that is easy to manipulate and can have the advantage of Azure Active Directory for it’s security.

What is Hybrid Cloud in Azure?

The Hybrid Cloud in Azure is the ability to keep your current on-premises environment running and also have services in Microsoft Azure which are connected. This is where the idea of “hybrid” cloud comes from. Most customers take this option as they don’t put every single service in Azure.

What are the 3 Types of Cloud Computing?

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS). I can copy and paste definitions for these as figuring out how to apply them to customers would require insight into their environment, however I can try to quantify this for you in some respect. We offer IaaS currently in our hosted GP offering (Like RadNet). Think of PowerApps / Power Platform. This would qualify as PaaS, but we haven’t done much yet. SaaS you want to think of Dynamics BC. Microsoft hosts that software for you thus Software as a service:

What is IaaS?

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a form of cloud computing that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. IaaS is one of the three main categories of cloud computing services, alongside software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS).

In the IaaS model, the cloud provider manages IT infrastructures such as storage, server and networking resources, and delivers them to subscriber organizations via virtual machines accessible through the internet. IaaS can have many benefits for organizations, such as potentially making workloads faster, easier, more flexible and more cost efficient.

What is PaaS?

Platform as a service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model where a third-party provider delivers hardware and software tools to users over the internet. Usually, these tools are needed for application development. A PaaS provider hosts the hardware and software on its own infrastructure. As a result, PaaS frees developers from having to install in-house hardware and software to develop or run a new application.

PaaS tools tend to be touted as simple to use and convenient. Users will normally have to pay on a per-use basis. An organization may find the move to a PaaS compelling considering potential cost savings over using on-premises alternatives.

What is SaaS?

Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a cloud provider hosts applications and makes them available to end users over the internet. In this model, an independent software vendor (ISV) may contract a third-party cloud provider to host the application. Or, with larger companies, such as Microsoft, the cloud provider might also be the software vendor.

SaaS is one of three main categories of cloud computing, alongside infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS). A range of IT professionals, business users and personal users use SaaS applications. Products range from personal entertainment, such as Netflix, to advanced IT tools. Unlike IaaS and PaaS, SaaS products are frequently marketed to both B2B and B2C users.

What is the difference between Cloud and Azure?

Nothing, there is no difference between Cloud and Azure. Azure is a fully cloud based platform. The only difference is cloud is a generic term for all third party internet based platforms and Azure is Microsoft’s brand name for theirs.