Top 5 Crucial Azure Platform Tools and Services

[et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1" custom_padding="||20px||false|false"]

Microsoft has been diligent over the years in providing a great variety of tools as part of its cloud computing platform, Azure. Enhancing everything from business, and finance, to DevOps automation and cloud management. We take the time to dive into some of these useful Azure tools and how they can help improve your workflow and business operations.

Azure Tools for Automation, DevOps, and Management

Building and setting up a cloud environment, powered by public cloud infrastructure and scalability, can take some time. With the right tooling, you can improve any process you need to make your business more agile, resilient, and cloud-ready. Before utilizing any of the following tools, you might need to go over the best steps and practices for cloud adoption.

Another important point to ensure cloud enablement is to establish automation. As a process, automation is divided into configuration management and orchestration. The process is vital for many aspects of your cloud-based business. For instance, if you have set up 30 or 40 virtual machines in an Azure environment, having cloud automation tools and cloud management tools helps to ensure each one of these systems is updated and patched to the latest version. When your automation tool notices one of the VMs is not patched, it simply applies the updates automatically.

1. Azure Automation

Utilizing Azure Automation enables you to merge orchestration and configuration management operations. Admins rely on this tool to create runbooks to carry out management tasks efficiently. The tool also gives you a chance to easily provision the necessary infrastructure and create webhooks (Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates are integrated to allow this feature). Scaling up a database, for instance, can be run by a technician who does not have access to the environment. Learn more about Azure Automation.

2. Azure DevOps / Azure DevOps Pipelines

These handy tools will allow you to incorporate automation for your CI/CD pipeline. With CI/CD you are automating code development and deployment while keeping an eye on every single detail. If an environment is more complex, you can make any necessary adjustments fast.

3. Azure Virtual Machines

Having a Virtual Machine (VM) via Microsoft Azure is a powerful cornerstone for a lot of businesses out there. In basic terms, it means you are making the most out of contemporary cloud computing. How? Easy. You are utilizing your own machine or system without having to spend on purchasing or maintaining physical equipment. Whatever your business needs to host applications or websites, or development, with Azure VMs.

4. Azure Active Directory

In terms of modern-day cybersecurity, Azure Active Directory (AD) contains all you need to secure account activity via identity management. Providing a mix of sign-in and multi-factor authentication, in addition to other security features, it is the best way of ensuring solid protection for your business environment. If you need further guidance on Azure Active Directory, Hentsu engineers have discussed tips and valuable info on Device Protection, Conditional Access, Compliance, and more.

5. Business Intelligence Tools

Relying on business intelligence tools like Power BI from Microsoft unlocks a wide range of benefits. One of the biggest advantages, of course, is the ability to accumulate and process data efficiently. After that, you can further organize your data, analyze, make dashboards, reports, and various visualizations. This tool is focused on improving specific aspects of your business operations: keeping an eye on market trends, precisely monitoring KPIs, and more.

Other Cloud Valuable Azure Tools

In addition to everything mentioned above, other helpful Azure tools are available, such as MS Azure Storage (allocating necessary storage for your business), Azure Backup (back up data safely), Azure Site Recovery (cost-effectively ensuring business continuity and data protection via site recovery) and more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_video src="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ilYZpyPLlg&feature=youtu.be" _builder_version="4.1"][/et_pb_video][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1" hover_enabled="0"]

Download interview with our Cloud Solutions Architect Jean-Luc Barrett

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Date/Time

Date(s) - 01/01/1970
12:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Location

600 5th ave. NY, NY

Weekly Cloud Trends – Growth Through Cloud Evolution

The new wave of cloud news tells us exactly how technology is evolving. Beyond that, we see how business owners are thinking. How is that possible? Well, through numerous valuable data and economic trends, we see a new market being shaped before our very eyes. Explore the latest stories about the cloud computing space, in Hentsu Weekly Cloud Trends.

On-premises Data Warehouses Are Dead

It seems like a bold statement, but many know it to be true. The story we keep hearing is how on-prem and traditional datacenters are fast becoming obsolete. Major cloud providers and public cloud computing services have been taking over most of the cloud market for some time. Gartner forecasts that 30% of data warehousing workloads are already run in the cloud. That number is expected to grow even more by the year 2024. Read more vital 2020 public cloud statistics here. Word is: "Even the core data warehouse technology providers have seen this trend and are spending most of their R&D budgets to build solutions for public cloud providers. Moreover, the public cloud providers themselves have 'company killing' products, such as AWS’s RedShift, a columnar database designed to compete with the larger enterprise data warehouse players." News via Infoworld.

The Evolution of Excel

Microsoft has been introducing more changes and updates to a lot of their cloud tools and cloud applications. According to a recent story, the industry veteran gives a detailed account of several new additions to its ever-popular tool, Excel. They also explain how it evolved over the years and what it still means for so many businesses around the globe. Here's a snippet: "The advantage Excel has over any other data/analytical tool is its flexibility. People are constantly evolving their spreadsheets to map the changing needs of their business processes. Until now, to get a value in a cell you either wrote a formula or typed the value directly into a cell. One cell, one value. If you wanted another value, you repeated the process, filling up the grid with a mix of disconnected data and helper cells. With data types, that all changes. Now a cell can contain a vibrant data type; one cell, a world of possibilities. Data types allow you to bring the data you care about into the grid, in its most natural form and unleash the power of Excel to gain critical insights." Have a look at the full story at MS.

Why Is Cloud Computing Moving to The Edge?

Cloud computing is moving towards edge tech. As a technology, edge infrastructure is turning into a vital next step. Gaming companies utilize edge to stream content, hospitals use edge servers to receive and analyze inbound data, and so on. The first advantage that comes to mind is capacity. More than that, edge offers low latency, better security, as well as improved transfer speeds. “Companies have already found it very easy to move to the cloud,” said Joshua Burgin, general manager of AWS Outposts. “But they have had to hold back some workloads for various reasons, such as latency, local data processing, or regulations. Now, cloud is delivered on a continuum, or consistent hybrid offering, that can meet the needs of companies requiring up to one-millisecond latency, local data processing, or needing to meet governmental or industry regulations.” Check out the full story at Forbes.

Date/Time

Date(s) - 01/01/1970
12:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Location

600 5th ave. NY, NY

Architecting Your Cloud Strategy Roadmap

[et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1"]

Cloud adoption is a complex process. In that regard, cloud migration paves the way for hedge funds and financial services. Cloud computing services, cloud architecture and cloud design are the main components that are needed to achieve this.

For many years Hentsu has been accumulating the necessary knowledge for streamlined cloud deployment and cloud implementation.

Devising your own cloud strategy roadmap may seem like a difficult task indeed. Although with the right guidance, you can simplify your journey.

 

Cloud Computing Services and Cloud Guidance

To achieve cloud readiness, there is a range of processes and preparation steps needed. For instance, your staff and operations need to adapt to the new environment, as you set up more powerful infrastructure. Detailed analysis of each aspect of your business is also required.

Here are some of the steps you can achieve easily through professional cloud computing services:

  1. Cloud Readiness via specialized cloud advisory services.
  2. Rapid cloud deployment through powerful tooling such as Terraform.
  3. Smooth cloud migration tailored for your business.

Of course, the results are the most important aspect of this effort. The best results are usually achieved with methodical cloud assessment and precise cloud implementation. To maintain success and solid ROI, it is advisable to set up automation processes, particularly in pipeline management (CI/CD).

So, what are the chief advantages of cloud implementation and cloud enablement? Have a quick look below:

  • Cost-efficiency
  • Scalability
  • Security

There is more to it, of course.

 

To explore other benefits of cloud adoption, DOWNLOAD our step-by-step infographic.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src="https://3bb4f13skpx244ooia2hci0q-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Architecting-Your-Cloud-Strategy-Roadmap-2-01-scaled.jpg" url="https://hentsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Architecting-Your-Cloud-Strategy-Roadmap.pdf" url_new_window="on" _builder_version="4.1"][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Date/Time

Date(s) - 01/01/1970
12:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Location

600 5th ave. NY, NY

Case Study: Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365

[et_pb_section fb_built="1" admin_label="The Challenge" _builder_version="4.1" collapsed="on"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1"]

 The Challenge of the Azure Case Study

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure="1_2,1_2" use_custom_gutter="on" gutter_width="2" _builder_version="4.1" custom_margin="||30px||false|false"][et_pb_column type="1_2" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1"]

In the following case study, we explore how Hentsu employs Azure, Microsoft 365, and Mimecast as a solution to host all on-premises infrastructure in public cloud and eventually adopt a serverless approach to productivity. This azure case study delves into specific client challenges that were resolves step by step.
An established US-based hedge fund firm contacted Hentsu to help them migrate to the public cloud. They had most of their infrastructure either on-premises in their office or in a datacenter.
The customer approached us to seek guidance on how they can migrate to public cloud and make the most use of its native features.
Our customer wanted to embrace the new technologies and ease of management that is being offered by public cloud.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1" background_color="#ffbb22" custom_margin="0px|||0px|false|false" custom_padding="20px|20px|10px|20px|false|false" locked="off"]

REQUIREMENTS

  • Save costs for physical hardware.
  • Host email on a SaaS based solution.
  • Improved email security.
  • Improved SLA for Infrastructure availability.
  • Reliable disaster recovery solution.
  • Reliable backup solution.
  • Eventually replace servers and utilize SaaS offering.
  • A possibility of using VDIs as a solution for remote working.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="CTA" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1" hover_enabled="0" locked="off"]

DOWNLOAD THIS CASE STUDY

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" admin_label="Key Considerations" _builder_version="4.1" background_color="#333333" collapsed="on"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.1" width="90%"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1" custom_padding="20px||||false|false"]

document icon Key Considerations

  1. Provide a solution that will migrate all on-premises services to a public cloud.
  2. Upgrade Operating Systems and software to the latest versions supported.
  3. Migration of services will follow a phased approach.
    • Phase 1 – Migrate all infrastructure to public cloud
    • Phase 2 – Utilize serverless solutions wherever possible.
  4. Backups should be readily available when required
  5. Disaster Recovery solution should require little to no effort.
  6. The Platform should support windows 10 virtualization
  7. Billing should be transparent and easy to understand with the ability to create custom reports based on usage, environments, ownership and so on.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" admin_label="The Solution" _builder_version="4.1" collapsed="on"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.1" custom_padding="30px||||false|false"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1"]

 The Solution

Design

After careful examination of the existing infrastructure and a discussion session we had decided to leverage a few platforms to accommodate all requirements. Each platform used was carefully evaluated by us to ensure prior to recommendation to ensure it will be the best offering for our customers. Below are the platforms we used for their transition.

 

Microsoft Azure

  • Host all servers as Azure Virtual Machines
  • Use Recovery Service Vaults to provide both backups and a disaster recovery solution.

Microsoft 365

  • Use native email hosting to host email for the entire organization
  • Provided licensing for Microsoft Office applications
  • Use OneDrive and SharePoint as SaaS options to replace file servers.

Mimecast

  • Use email security features such as spam filters, anti-Spoofing, etc.
  • Use stationary features to provide a standard template for org wide signatures and emails.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" admin_label="Roadmap" _builder_version="4.1" collapsed="on"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1"]

 Roadmap

The migration was divided up into two phases with each phase involving multiple steps to complete.

 

Phase 1

  • Migrate the existing infrastructure to Azure.
    • All servers had their OS updated to Windows Server 2016 (latest at the time).
    • All App servers were updated to use the latest version of the respective app.
  • Migrate their emails to utilize Microsoft 365.
  • Set up Mimecast for email security and standard signatures across the company.

Phase 2

  • Identify all servers whose functions can be replaced with a SaaS solution
    • Domain Controllers would be replaced by Azure Active Directory.
    • File servers would be replaced by OneDrive and SharePoint.
    • Application servers were replaced with a SaaS equivalent. For example, Secret Server was replaced with LastPass.
  • Implement the required solution
  • Provide user training to accommodate to the new ways of working for users.
  • Decommission servers that are no longer being use.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" admin_label="Impact " _builder_version="4.1" background_color="#333333" collapsed="on"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.1" width="90%"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.1"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.1" custom_padding="20px||10px||false|false"]

 Impact of the MS 365, Mimecast, and Azure Case Study

The project allowed us to leverage the offerings of Azure, Microsoft 365, and Mimecast to provide an effective solution for our customer. The initial migration to Azure helped them shave off the high costs of renting space in a datacenter, upgrading hardware and software licenses. It also provided them a cheaper, yet equally effective option for backups and disaster recovery.

Few months after phase 1 was implemented, work on phase 2 began. Once it was completed and all the servers were replaced with a SaaS alternative. This helped them save even more on infrastructure costs. All users were provided training on how to use the OneDrive and SharePoint.

After the project was completed, they were given an environment that utilizes the power of public cloud, while meeting the needs of the organization.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Date/Time

Date(s) - 01/01/1970
12:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Location

600 5th ave. NY, NY

Weekly Cloud Trends – Cloud as the Center of the Investment World

The latest Weekly Cloud Trends, here at Hentsu, convey a sense of substantial progress when it comes to investments in cloud computing. Major corporations are pouring large pieces of their capital into cloud technology, and cloud-based businesses. This is particularly the case on the current banking, financial services, and hedge fund front.

Why Capital Markets Must Embrace Change and The Cloud

According to FT’s story, major companies such as HSBC, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank (in addition to others) are expanding their agreements with big cloud providers. Investments are now speeding up and the market is changing to befit the current economic landscape. As we have reported back in July, Google has partnerships with Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. In fact, it was recently noted that “the drive to go digital will only intensify following the pandemic, which means that everything from market data to legal agreements to risk management is ripe for disruption. Many, if not all of these activities will be underpinned by cloud technology, which in turn opens the door to a whole range of data services, AI, distributed ledger technology, digital services, and many more. To take full advantage of such technologies, the great capital markets cloud migration needs to begin now.” Continue reading at Forbes.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna Wants to Completely Transform His Organization

IBM is, once again, confirms its plan to shift the company’s well-known strategy for the upcoming business year. During an interview with CNBC Evolve summit, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna revealed his intentions to concentrate on “transforming his organization.” The goal is to create a hybrid cloud management vendor, moving forward. In short, this indicates that IBM “instead of trying to primarily sell its own infrastructure or software services — although it will continue to do that — it will concentrate on leveraging Red Hat, the company it bought for $34 billion in 2018, to help customers manage their hybrid environments regardless of location. That could be on-prem or it could be with any of the public cloud providers or anything in between.” Discover more at TechCrunch.

Amazon to Invest $2.8 Billion to Build its Second Data Center in India

Cloud giant Amazon uncovered the info that it intends to invest approximately $2.8 billion into setting up a new AWS Cloud region in India. Word is “The investment will allow Amazon to launch an AWS Cloud region in Hyderabad by mid-2022, said K. T. Rama Rao, Minister for Information Technology, Electronics & Communications, Municipal Administration and Urban Development and Industries & Commerce Departments, Government of Telangana. The new AWS Asia Region will be Amazon’s second infrastructure region in India, Amazon said in a press release. It did not disclose the size of the investment.” “The new AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) Region will enable even more developers, start-ups, and enterprises as well as government, education, and non-profit organizations to run their applications and serve end-users from data centers located in India,” the e-commerce giant said. “Businesses in India are embracing cloud computing to reduce costs, increase agility, and enable rapid innovation to meet the needs of billions of customers in India and abroad,” adds Peter DeSantis, senior vice president of Global Infrastructure and Customer Support, AWS. Read on.

Date/Time

Date(s) - 01/01/1970
12:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Location

600 5th ave. NY, NY