The shift to the cloud is inevitable – being flexible in times of change is critical along with no downtime and data must be accessible anywhere, any time. When choosing which cloud provider, there are 3 requirements that all companies should consider.
Perth businesses now have more options when it comes to cloud-based business services, keeping data secure while saving both time and money.
Vizstone, a cloud enablement partner and IT solutions provider, is offering Azure, a cloud service by Microsoft.
Hosted in two Australian data centres – with 19 other data centres across the world, Microsoft is one of the premier Cloud Providers on Australian soil. Data sovereignty issues can be mitigated by the physical presence of the data centres within Australian borders.
This means reduced latency for companies using applications sensitive to latency and recovery of data being quick and simple. Data recovery options provide the greatest flexibility to allow corporate workloads to operate within a ‘cloud’ context when the model suits, bringing resources back on premise in situations where it doesn’t.
Azure also provides opportunities to establish 100 per cent dedicated fibre links direct into the data centres to provide zero contention and availability of bandwidth. Enterprise grade site to site IPSEC connections are recommended to provide connectivity between on premise and Azure workloads.
Vizstone director Kathryn Soares said the move to cloud-based business services allowed for increased savings, agility of business processes and scalability of services when the business requires.
“We believe that a shift to the cloud is inevitable for some and maybe all business processes and services,” she said.
“We believe this as cloud computing provides the ability to be flexible in times of change and reduced costs in times of stability or retraction.”
“The key to this process working is making this process completely simple and flexible so the business is driving the IT instead of the reverse. IT systems should be able to scale up and down when the business requires and the costs should reflect effort used.
“Vizstone has cloud architect experts who understand that choosing a cloud service is more then just enablement, but that it should always consider business continuity and on going management with security.”
There are three main ways Microsoft Azure can help your business grow and run as smoothly as possible:
* Hosting your applications: using Azure you can move your apps from servers to the cloud, saving you on the cost of new server hardware. One of the best things about cloud technology is there’s no need for infrastructure, thus reducing the ‘IT cost’ – you only pay for the resources you use and scale them up or down as needed. It’s also accessible anywhere.
* Backing up your data: Azure will ensure there’s a minimum of six copies of your data backed up on their Australian data centres. Azure can also be used for testing, development and proof of concepts.
Database backup is fast and easy with SQL Server and Azure and encryption adds an extra level of protection. Recovery is easy too, thanks to local datacentres.
* Hosting your website: hosting your own websites can add extra costs through unexpected downtime, poor performance, and low levels of security and hardware costs. Reliable and secure, Azure allows you to quickly and easily host scalable websites in the cloud.
Skype, Office 365 and Xbox all run on the same cloud as Microsoft Azure and thanks to the high-profile of many Microsoft customers, including some of the world’s largest financial institutions, you’ll also get the best in security.
As an enabler and broker of cloud services for Australian businesses, Vizstone focuses on professional and managed services that deliver, plan, manage and enhance cloud services.
“We work with our clients to set cloud strategy, create roadmaps and implement public, private and hybrid cloud architectures,” Ms Soares said.
“We welcome the advantages that Microsoft Azure bring to the market of public cloud offerings.”
