Microsoft Azure Room for Improvement
The only thing is regarding the management of multi-cloud environments. That's not really possible.
So basically, it's wonderful if you manage Microsoft clearly and if you manage Microsoft Azure, but if you need to consume external services and have a global overview of all your consumption, it's not the case.
Google, for instance, has tools that help you manage multiple environments, which makes sense because Google is really the cloud provider. So that's why they need to be compliant with the others.
But for sure, Microsoft's approach is different, and it's wonderful when you're one hundred percent on Azure. But if you'd like to have something more of a multi-cloud strategy, that's a bit of a gap where they could improve.
View full review »VM
Vineeth Marar
Cloud solution architect at 0
In Azure, there are so many things. Especially when dealing with different regions. Suppose we are far from a region and using it over the internet, then probably more Edge Zones in nearby cities would help. This would give easier access with no delay or latency.
Right now, the problem in many remote areas is they may have low-bandwidth internet connections. This can make it difficult to access large services that require more bandwidth to download data and such. So, if the service were closer, it would be faster to access. At least they could access it easily.
Again, there are many other suggestions from a technical perspective on different services. But this is just from a user's perspective, and user demographics can create challenges. Other users with very good access might not have latency or other issues, but they might have operational challenges.
For example, let's say ExpressRoute. It's very expensive and mainly available for enterprise customers. Suppose individual users want that kind of dedicated connectivity over a service provider like Airtel or Vodafone and have an ExpressRoute from their phone, but is there any availability for a lower-cost option?
Because it's very expensive as well, if there were any such services available at a lower cost, then that would really help customers, especially SMBs, to have more consistent and reliable applications.
The main improvement I expect is capacity improvement. For example, live streaming applications require a lot of backend computing power. During events like football matches, millions of requests can occur per second. Existing services might not be sufficient to handle this.
We need to know the maximum scalability based on data center capacity limitations. In some cases, we have to deny customer requests due to insufficient capacity. So, improved scalability is a key area for development, and I'm sure other cloud providers face similar challenges.
There are a lot of services already in Azure, but from a regular user's perspective, improvements can be made to specific services and features. For example, in Kubernetes, initially, it was limited. You could only create a Kubernetes cluster in one subnet.
If all the IPs in that subnet were used, you couldn't expand that subscription. That was an issue, but it's been addressed. Now, you can increase the number of nodes by creating a new node pool in the same cluster with additional subnets. Improvements like this feature-based approach can be applied to many services.
Another key area for improvement is the Azure load balancer. Currently, it only supports virtual machines (VMs) running in the same virtual network (vNet) on the backend.
They should definitely support machines or IPs running on-premises (prem) or in other Azure VNets. GCP and AWS already support that. So, Azure Load Balancer should support that as well because being able to provide support is a very basic requirement or a valid request from any customer. These kinds of feature requests can be improved from a cloud service provider's perspective.
View full review »Improvements are needed in Azure to enhance integration tools and support for effectively migrating and managing third-party dependencies. Additionally, there is a significant issue with payment restrictions on Azure, particularly for users in regions with limitations in their local economies. Integrating third-party payment services could alleviate this problem, allowing users from various international locations, such as China, Europe, and Africa, to make payments more seamlessly. By providing alternative payment methods beyond the reliance on US debit cards, Microsoft could greatly improve the usability and accessibility of Azure for users worldwide. There's room for improvement in integrating the Azure Marketplace with the Azure portal. It would be beneficial if users could directly communicate with solution owners or developers through the portal. For instance, if a user encounters challenges while using a particular solution from the marketplace, they could easily send an email, initiate a phone call, or even send an SMS to the solution owner or developer for assistance. This direct communication channel would streamline the troubleshooting process and foster better collaboration between users and solution providers, enhancing the overall user experience.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
763,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.
We use most Azure services. However, there are limitations with a few services, like the Standard Load Balancer. It lacks features like utilization visibility compared to traditional load balancers.
Some older services need better log visibility. Additionally, limitations can be restrictive. For example, the Standard Load Balancer currently lacks the ability to proactively monitor its own health.
Additionally, through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) model, Microsoft support isn't ideal. We often need to escalate to outsourced technical support, who rely on documentation. I often need to remind them that we follow the documentation and educate them on the issue. I rarely reach the actual Microsoft back-end engineers. Despite this, the service uptime and monitoring are good.
View full review »One thing I find is that there are updates happening all the time, but they don't always roll out information about the changes. For example, the way to connect to Git repositories six months ago was different from how it is now.
It would be good if the platform incorporated some kind of announcement system, like "This process has changed, here's the revised method." That would be really helpful. So, update announcements should be there.
While Azure continually improves its services, one area for enhancement could be in the realm of big data and unstructured data storage. Although I haven't explored this aspect extensively, focusing on improving offerings in this area could benefit users who rely on such data storage solutions.
One area where Microsoft Azure could improve is in offering a broader range of pre-built plugins and tools compared to AWS. While Azure excels in certain capabilities like text-to-voice and voice-to-text, it may lack robust support for handling diverse languages effectively, such as local dialects or combinations of languages like Chinese and English. Enhancing flexibility and language support could make Azure more competitive in diverse global markets like Singapore and the Philippines. Additionally, a feature I would like to see added to Azure in the future is support for a native graph database technology. While AWS offers Neptune for graph databases, Azure currently lacks a similar offering.
There's an ongoing development, particularly concerning the Data Fabric offering launched a few months ago.
Data Fabric is an additional offering which is Software as a service "as a service" application, unlike the core Azure platform initially focused on "platform as a service." It sits on top of Azure.
We thought Azure could be more flexible and cost-effective, but our experience suggests this separation might simplify things for some customers. It's worth exploring as a potential improvement for specific needs.
View full review »One significant area for improvement in Microsoft Azure is the cost associated with its services. While integrating services from different vendors, the perceived costs are high, with occasional confusion about specific charges, especially in data transfer scenarios between regions. This cost factor poses a barrier for small companies, and they could simplify the process and reevaluate pricing structures.
View full review »The solution's email hosting pricing could be improved. Microsoft Azure gives different options in terms of how you're going to access your email. It would be good if the solution could improve and give cheaper emails that can work in Outlook.
View full review »Improving transparency in billing is crucial for us. Understanding how billing works only becomes clear once we start using the services. A more accurate billing calculator would help us anticipate costs associated with using specific services.
View full review »JN
Jenny Ng
Operations at Infomag
The solution should be more intuitive and provide better support. We often do not receive frequent updates or comprehensive support, even as partners. Additionally, we are exploring the AI functionality within Azure. We are looking to collaborate with Microsoft to activate AI features in Azure to fulfill AI-related tasks requested by our clients.
The pricing criteria can be improved with broken-down terms that can be understood easily.
There are rare cases of time-consuming technical issues. The Azure team can devise efficient and streamlined procedures for dealing with critical technicalities that can affect workflows.
Integrating the system with third-party platforms not connected to the Microsoft system is not easy.
Maintenance is sometimes hectic due to poor cloud and on-premise server integrations.
The overall performance has been excellent, and I can recommend Microsoft Azure to other enterprises.
View full review »The permissions and controls in the product are not easy to use. From an improvement perspective, the permissions and controls in the product need to be made easier. I believe that the product is working to improve the native domain controllers in the cloud. My company studies the road map of Microsoft Azure quite frequently and closely. I believe the solution is working on areas where my company finds ideas or areas for improvement.
The product's current price needs to be lowered from an improvement perspective.
Navigating the frequent changes in the interface has been a challenge, requiring effort to keep up with updates. Options or features that were once located in one window may unexpectedly move to another, making it hard to stay current with the changes.
View full review »The solution must improve its pricing.
View full review »VM
Vivek Mehta
Senior Manager Presales at NEC
From the perspective of a user who has a partnership relationship with Microsoft, I would want Microsoft Azure to provide some credits that can be used to test and validate Microsoft’s different solutions since it is an area where the product lacks.
View full review »It can be cheaper, which might simplify things a bit.
View full review »The third-party data-sharing features must be improved. It will be useful for users who use other cloud providers.
GV
Gery Vasquez
New Digital Applications Specialist at Alpina Sa
For additional features, I believe our team is interested in exploring SmartOps on Azure.
We are also exploring the power platform and have a keen interest in leveraging premium features. It would be beneficial if Microsoft could enhance the free version to allow for more exploration and development. That's my only suggestion regarding Azure.
View full review »There's a complexity involved in getting the subscriptions provisioned. There are too many complications. Without IT knowledge, we cannot subscribe and work. The product is not user-friendly. All the services must be available in one place so that I can get the services that I need at the right time.
View full review »SB
Saikrishna B
Technical support engineer at 64 Network security pvt ltd
The security feature in the solution is an area that needs to be improved.
View full review »EL
reviewer2348199
IT Administrator at a security firm with 51-200 employees
Sometimes, I need better support. Microsoft must acknowledge support cases for the product. There have been some data leak issues lately. The support team is not responding to my emails. I had a call with an engineer on a weekend, and he told me he would follow up on Monday, but he hasn’t shown up yet.
View full review »I would recommend some enhancement regarding integration features.
TR
Thillai Raja
Managing director at antarymain solutions
The subscriptions are complicated. The process is not user-friendly.
View full review »IM
Ibrahim-Mohamed
Solutions Architect at MTN
The solution's initial setup was a bit complex in the beginning. We had to go through a major learning curve before we got hands-on familiarity with it.
View full review »The solution’s stability could be improved.
View full review »MP
Marcelo Pissinati
IT Cybersecurity and Compliance Coordinator at Plaenge
I would like to see Internet content filtering included.
View full review »EV
Erik Våge
It at Forvent
Microsoft Azure needs to be simplified to make it better understood for users.
View full review »Everything needs improvement. The tool must constantly improve to provide a better experience. The security must be improved. The scalability could also be improved.
View full review »Microsoft Azure needs to improve its user interface. New developers and teams have difficulty understanding its lifecycle.
View full review »Microsoft Azure could improve by having more virtual machine operating systems available.
View full review »The tool needs to improve its navigation.
View full review »RV
Rasa VilkaitienÄ—
Quality Assurance Engineer at OAD
We have reported some bugs we encountered, and it would be good if those bugs were resolved more quickly.
View full review »DD
reviewer2349756
Senior DevSecOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The tool should add an interface that is similar to AWS.
View full review »YK
Ye ZawKhant
Co-owner at Min shan saw
The solution’s learning curve could be improved.
View full review »I have found Microsoft Azure has many components to use and it's very difficult to understand every component.
View full review »Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
763,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.