By name: azure description: Microsoft Azure cloud platform with Functions, AKS, and DevOps. Use for Azure services.
Azure
Azure is Microsoft's cloud platform, tightly integrated with the Enterprise ecosystem (Active Directory, Windows, Office 365). 2025 trends include AI Copilots everywhere and Azure Arc for hybrid management.
When to Use
- Microsoft Shops: Seamless integration with Entra ID (Active Directory) and Visual Studio.
- Hybrid: Azure Arc allows you to manage on-prem servers and Kubernetes clusters from the Azure Portal.
- OpenAI: Exclusive access to GPT-4 via Azure OpenAI Service with enterprise compliance.
Core Concepts
Resource Groups
Logical containers for resources. Deleting the group deletes everything inside it. Lifecycle boundary.
Entra ID (fka Active Directory)
Identity is the new perimeter. Azure's RBAC is powerful and complex.
App Service
PaaS for hosting Web Apps (IIS/Linux). Easiest way to host a .NET or Node app without managing VMs.
Best Practices (2025)
Do:
- Use Managed Identities: Eliminate virtually all secrets from your code.
- Use Azure Policy: Enforce compliance (e.g., "No resources allowed in region X") at the subscription level.
- Tagging: Tag everything. It's the only way to make sense of the billing report.
Don't:
- Don't expose RDP/SSH: Use Azure Bastion or VPN. Never open port 3389/22 to
0.0.0.0/0.