Acquia Cloud vs Microsoft Azure comparison

Acquia is a digital experience platform that allows companies to build, optimize, and operate websites, apps, and other digital experiences through specialized software and services. Their products include Acquia Cloud, Cloud IDE, Acquia DAM, customer data platform, campaign studio, site studio, Edge CDN, site and campaign factories, and personalization.

Through Acquia DXP, companies and their developers, marketers, and IT teams can create and broadcast digital products and services to maximize the exposure of the brand by reaching a broad customer audience. Organizations can rely on the features Acquia offers as a digital experience platform and provide their clients with the experience they require. Acquia’s features allow businesses to engage customers and establish a prominent digital presence. This DXP understands the need for companies to be able to reach their client base through many online channels and provides them with the right tools to build their digital experience platform.

Acquia Cloud Features

Acquia digital experience platform provides companies with two main features: the Drupal Cloud and the Marketing Cloud. Through Drupal, organizations can assemble the digital experiences that their clients need. The marketing cloud is created to break down data and help companies manage their digital marketing more easily.

Here is a summary of the features that a company can use if they chose Acquia as their DXP.

• Drupal cloud: Acquia CMS, a cloud platform and cloud IDE, migrate, accelerate, as well as replatform, content hub, site factory and site studio, code studio, and Edge WAF and CDN. The features of the Drupal cloud allow companies to build digital experiences even with only beginner knowledge about coding. The visual page builder provides an easy way to implement a DXP. Acquia also offers developers and professional IT teams ways to follow the building processes. Companies can distribute the digital experience on existing and emerging channels while using a secure platform.
  
  
• Marketing cloud: Acquia CDP, personalization, Acquia DAM, campaign studio, campaign factory, and Acquia PIM. The marketing cloud helps companies connect with their customers and potentially raise the ROI of their businesses. Organizations can use Acquia cloud to highly personalize the way they reach customers while simultaneously increasing effectiveness. The marketing features of this DXP also grant businesses  intelligence insights about their performance and help to manage their data effectively.

Acquia Cloud Benefits

The Acquia Cloud digital experience platform offers different features through a single DXP, making it easier for companies to reach their customers through a simplified site-building process. Some of the benefits of this DXP include:

• Accessible multi-channel content delivery
• Detailed customer data 
• Personalization of content for different target groups
• Potential saves costs when migrating from another CMS

Windows Azure is Microsoft's cloud platform, where developers can create, deploy, and maintain their apps. This cloud application platform allows developers to concentrate on the actual applications, while it takes care of all the elements behind the apps.

Windows Azure works across multiple frameworks and languages. It is fully scalable, localized in that it is hosted globally in many datacenters, and has widespread capabilities with elements of application development, deployment, and management.

Azure is comprised of several different service modules, including Infrastructure; Web; Mobile; Dev & Test; Big Data; Media;Storage, Backup & Recovery; and Identity & Access Management.

Microsoft Azure works as a:

1. Platform as a service (PaaS)
2. Software as a service (SaaS)
3. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

Microsoft Azure is available:

• On-premises
• Hybrid
• Multi-cloud
• At the edge

Compared to its competitors, Microsoft Azure:

• Has more affordable features
• Has easier migration for organizations already using other Microsoft tools
• Has several educational resources available
• Provides robust support
• Is ideal for small and large businesses

Microsoft Azure Features:

• Scalability
• Stability
• Flexibility
• Azure Site Recovery
• Active Directory
• Monitoring features
• Cloud-based
• Automated tasks
• Change capability cadence
• Showback capabilities
• Information protection
• Azure Data Lake
• Excellent portal
• Intuitive user interface
• Remote desktop
• Fast provisioning
• Data security
• Data resiliency
• Speed of service
• Integrated delivery pipeline
• Disaster recovery
• Robust templates
• Flexible coding languages
• Virtual systems testing

Benefits of Microsoft Azure:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Because Microsoft Azure is an IaaS, organizations can deploy as well as manage applications easily and quickly. Azure also provides you with the ability to customize the cloud software to meet your specific business needs.
• Seamless integration: Microsoft Azure is built to seamlessly integrate with existing IT departments via hybrid databases, secure private connections, and storage solutions.
• Cost-effective: Because Azure can harmoniously exist in your business environment with your data center, it is a very cost-effective solution.
• Analytics support: Azure is designed with built-in support that is used to analyze data and provide key insights. Azure offers Cortana Analytics, Stream Analytics, Machine Learning, and SQL services.
• Unique storage system: Compared to other cloud services, Microsoft Azure has more data centers and delivery points, which helps create an optimal user experience and also helps deliver content faster. In addition, Microsoft Azure makes it possible for organizations to exchange content across several virtual machines.
• Enhanced flexibility: Azure provides extreme flexibility by allowing you to choose any level of functionality you require. It also supports many of the same technologies IT teams and developers usually depend on, making it easier for them to manage.
• Easy implementation: Microsoft Azure is easy and quick to deploy. If necessary, you can change web apps to Azure with almost zero downtime.

Reviews from Real Users:

"It is a flexible solution that is straightforward to use," says the principal consultant at a computer software company.

OmarJ., future datacenter consultant: Microsoft Azure Cloud at a tech company, adds that "The user interface is very nice and makes everything easy to use."

“You can build an environment in minutes. It's very good in terms of being an infrastructure as a service, and I found that really fascinating,” says an information technology consultant at a computer software company.

"I think Azure's level of automation to achieve efficiency or agility is valuable. I also like the change capability cadence, the showback capabilities, and understanding what our costs are," says an enterprise architect at an energy/utilities company.

Marco C., Ing. at Wolters Kluwer, says "The valuable features of Microsoft Azure are that it is cloud-based and has good storage. The storage is completely managed by Azure. We do not need to do any patching of security because it is handled by Azure which is a benefit. The solution is fully compatible with the Microsoft technology stack and is very scalable."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure is it has everything together in one place. It is one large tool with lots of small tools that are updated often," says the owner of a media company.