What is Microsoft Azure (Azure)?

Microsoft Azure (Azure) is a public cloud platform by Microsoft that provides IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS services for hosting applications, data storage, and building distributed and AI systems. The platform includes virtual machines, containers (Azure Kubernetes Service), managed databases, analytics tools, and built-in AI services (Azure OpenAI).

The infrastructure is deployed across more than 70 regions worldwide, with a global network, availability zones, and paired regions for fault tolerance.

Key services

• Compute — Virtual Machines, AKS, Functions, App Service;
• Storage — Blob Storage, Files, Managed Disks;
• Identity — Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD);
• Data and AI — Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Synapse, Fabric, Azure OpenAI Service;
• Hybrid — Azure Arc, Azure Stack.

Azure is designed for hybrid and multicloud scenarios, deep integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, multi-layered security (encryption, RBAC, Defender for Cloud), monitoring, and regulatory compliance (GDPR, ISO, SOC, etc.). The platform provides scalability, automation (IaC: ARM, Bicep), and a strong focus on enterprise requirements.