What Azure is
Microsoft's cloud: the same categories as AWS — machines, databases, storage, identity — with the difference being how deeply it connects to the Microsoft software an organisation already runs.
technologies / azure
Azure for organisations already living on Microsoft.
When your identity, your documents and your existing systems are Microsoft, Azure removes an entire category of integration work.
why azure
Where Azure fits best.
The strongest argument for Azure is rarely the infrastructure. It's what it's already connected to.
Identity
Sign-in you already have
Entra ID gives staff access with existing accounts and policies, instead of another password to manage.
Integration
Next to your data
SQL Server, Office and internal line-of-business systems are neighbours rather than remote endpoints.
Compliance
Regions and paperwork
European regions and the compliance documentation procurement teams ask for, which shortens approvals.
Licensing
Existing agreements count
Existing Microsoft agreements often change the economics enough to decide the question.
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What we build with Azure
Hosting for organisations already on Microsoft
If identity, e-mail and documents are already Microsoft, putting the application next to them removes a category of integration work.
Single sign-on with Entra ID
Staff sign in with the account they already have, and access is removed centrally when they leave. This is usually the strongest reason to be here.
Modern .NET in containers
Moving a Windows-only .NET Framework application onto Linux containers, which normally cuts hosting cost substantially.
Infrastructure as code
Bicep or Terraform in your repository, so environments are rebuildable and reviewable rather than remembered.
Meeting a procurement requirement
Some contracts specify where data may live and which certifications the platform must hold. Azure often satisfies those, and we build to the requirement rather than around it.
the essentials
What Azure actually is.
Written for someone deciding, not for someone who already knows. Skip it if you do.
Why you would choose it over AWS
Rarely the technology; usually the organisation. If your identity is already Entra ID, your staff live in Microsoft 365 and your licensing agreement is with Microsoft, Azure removes friction the alternatives can't. Identity alone is often the whole argument.
Where it's genuinely stronger
Enterprise identity and governance. Conditional access, managed identities and the policy tooling around them are more coherent than the equivalents elsewhere, which matters once you have hundreds of staff rather than ten.
The trade, stated plainly
The portal is harder to navigate and the naming is inconsistent, which costs real time. If your organisation has no Microsoft relationship, this isn't the obvious default and we would not pretend otherwise.
Cost
Paying for Windows licences you no longer need
Modern .NET runs on Linux. For many workloads this alone justifies the migration.
Access
Staff who left still have accounts
If application access isn't tied to central identity, offboarding is a checklist somebody forgets. Entra ID removes the checklist.
Sprawl
Resource groups nobody can explain
Azure accumulates orphaned resources quietly. An inventory usually finds a meaningful share of the bill doing nothing.
questions
Straight answers.
Azure or AWS?
If your organisation runs on Microsoft identity and Office, Azure usually wins on integration and procurement. Otherwise the decision is closer and comes down to what your team knows.
Can you run non-Microsoft software on Azure?
Yes. We run Linux containers, Node and PostgreSQL on Azure routinely. It's a general-purpose cloud.
Do you handle the migration?
Yes, alongside the existing system with a switch at the end and an agreed way back, rather than a weekend with no return path.
We're on Microsoft 365. Does that mean Azure?
It's a genuine reason to lean that way, mainly for identity, but not automatic. If the application has no Microsoft dependencies, either cloud is fine and cost should decide.
Can you move us from AWS to Azure, or back?
Yes, and how hard it's depends entirely on how portable the original build was. Containers and a standard database move in weeks; proprietary services don't.
Tell us what you want to build or improve.
A few lines are enough to start. You get a reply within two working days.