Microsoft Azure

• Azure, initially known as Project Red Dog, was created to compete with cloud resource offerings like Amazon EC2 and Google App Engine.
• It has since grown into a comprehensive public cloud computing platform.
• Windows Azure was announced in 2008, initially focusing on running ASP.NET web applications and APIs.
• In 2010, Windows Azure became commercially available with expanded support for additional programming languages like Java and PHP.
• In 2014, Windows Azure was renamed Microsoft Azure and introduced second-generation services to adopt open-source software.
• These services included Linux VM, MySQL, PHP, and Apache, promoting Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
• Microsoft Azure later released third-generation services focused on big data analytics and IoT capabilities.
• Fourth-generation services now integrate Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) and Artificial Intelligence services using Azure ML Studio and Azure ML Services.
• Microsoft has also expanded Azure infrastructure globally, improving its reach and performance.
• Microsoft provides numerous certifications under the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador program.
• These include Azure Fundamentals, Developer Associate, and Administrator Associate.
• Customer support options for Azure have improved over time, and Microsoft has pushed to make technology accessible.
• Initiatives include 'Cloud for all' for students, 'Azure for Students', and AZURE ARC for universally managing resources across different cloud platforms.
• As of Q1 2024, Microsoft Azure had a 24% market share in the cloud computing market.
• Azure is the second-largest cloud provider globally, after Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• Azure Cloud Services is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure for deploying, managing, and scaling applications and services.
• It facilitates developers to build applications that use Java, Node.js, PHP, Python, and .NET.

Azure Cloud Services Key Features

• Azure Cloud Services has built-in health monitoring and load balancing, automatically redirecting traffic to healthy instances.
• The Azure Software Development Kit (SDK) integrates seamlessly with Visual Studio.
• Applications can be scaled to meet demand, ensuring performance and reliability.
• Azure Cloud Services provides paths for migrating from Azure Service Manager to Azure Resource Manager.
• Azure offers various cloud-based services for data storage, processing, and analytics.
• These services manage both structured and unstructured data efficiently.
• Microsoft Azure provides data services, including databases, data storage, data analytics, big data, AI, machine learning, data governance, and security.

Azure Data Services Overview

• Azure SQL Database is a managed relational database (SQL Server in the cloud).
• Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed NoSQL database for high availability.
• Azure Database supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB as managed open-source databases.
• Azure SQL Managed Instance helps lift-and-shift SQL Server to the cloud.

Data Storage

• Azure Blob Storage provides scalable object storage for unstructured data like images, videos, and logs.
• Azure Data Lake Storage is optimized for big data analytics.
• Azure Files provides managed file shares for cloud and hybrid environments.

Data Analytics & Big Data

• Azure Synapse Analytics (formerly SQL Data Warehouse) provides enterprise-scale analytics.
• Azure Data Factory is an ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) service for data integration.
• Azure Databricks offers Apache Spark-based big data and AI analytics.
• Azure Stream Analytics enables real-time data stream processing.

AI & Machine Learning Data Services

• Azure Machine Learning allows building, training, and deploying ML models.
• Azure Cognitive Services provides pre-built AI models for vision, speech, and language.

Data Governance & Security

• Azure Purview supports data governance, lineage tracking, and compliance.
• Azure Key Vault securely stores secrets, keys, and certificates.
• Microsoft Fabric integrates various Microsoft services under a unified architecture.
• It combines data engineering, data science, real-time analytics, and business intelligence (BI) in one environment.

Microsoft Fabric Components

• OneLake is a single, unified data lake built on Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2.
• Data Engineering contains an Apache Spark-based engine for big data processing.
• Data Factory delivers no-code/low-code ETL pipelines.
• Data Science has integrated machine learning (ML) with Azure AI & AutoML.
• Real-Time Analytics handles streaming data and IoT workloads.
• Power BI has built-in dashboards and business intelligence tools.
• Microsoft Purview is included for its security & governance features.
• Microsoft Fabric has seven key workloads for seamless data management and analytics.
• These workloads include Data Factory, Synapse Data Engineering, Synapse Data Science, Synapse Data Warehousing, Synapse Real-Time Analytics, and Power BI.
• Fabric functions as a unified platform and does not requires the use of multiple Azure services separately.
• A centralized storage (OneLake) and built-in AI & ML supports advanced analytics, automation, and seamless integration Power BI.
• Microsoft Fabric is optimized for business users.
• This solution only charges for what you use, and it uses flexible pricing.

Azure Customers

• Azure has a wide range of customers from startup to Fortune 500 companies across various industries.
• These industries include finance, healthcare, retail, and government.

Large Enterprises & Tech Companies

• Microsoft runs its services like Office 365, Xbox, and LinkedIn on Azure.
• Samsung uses Azure AI and IoT for smart device management.
• Adobe moved its cloud products (Adobe Creative Cloud, Document Cloud) to Azure.

Financial Customer Examples

• HSBC uses Azure for AI-driven fraud detection and risk management.
• JP Morgan Chase leverages Azure for secure and scalable cloud infrastructure.

Retail & E-commerce Customer Examples

• Walmart runs cloud applications and analytics on Azure.
• Coca-Cola has used Azure for digital transformation and supply chain optimization.

Healthcare & Pharma Customer Examples

• Novartis uses Azure AI for drug discovery and patient analytics.
• GE Healthcare uses Azure for medical imaging and healthcare AI.
• UK NHS uses Azure for patient data and digital health solutions.

Government & Public Sector Customer Examples

• U.S. Department of Defense uses Azure Government for secure cloud services.

Automotive & Manufacuring Customer Examples

• Volkswagen group uses Azure for connects car solutions and digital factories.
• Siemens uses Azure IoT for industrial automation and smart manufacturing.

Coca-Cola Azure Implementation

• Coca-cola partnered with Microsoft Azure to modernize it's IT infrastructure.
• It planned to improve both customer engagement and operation optimization.
• Legacy IT systems were costly and difficult to scale, and additional real-time data was needed to enhance supply chain efficiency.
• Growing demand for personalized customer experiances.
• Coca-Cola implemented a cloud-first strategy using Microsoft Azure's services.
• Coca Cola used Azure Synapse Analytics to unify data for real-time insights.
• Coca Cola used Azure AI & Cognitive Services to build AI-powered chatbots and voice recognition for customer support.
• Azure IoT Hub was used to connect vending machines and refrigerators for predictive maintenance.
• Power BI provided real-time dashboards for sales and supply chain teams.
• Azure Kubernetes Service streamlined app development and deployment.
• Coca-cola reduced its cost using this plan by 30%.
• Sales insights improved with real-time demand forecasting.
• Coca-cola successfully transformed into a more agile, data-driven enterprise.