Setting up Azure – the role of the developer

How would you describe MS Azure Cloud? What is it for?

Microsoft Azure Cloud (Azure) is a technical solution to move the entire deployment and release infrastructure to an external service. In other words, all the servers that we might have in our offices for databases, applications, etc. are available on Microsoft servers that are managed and maintained by Microsoft staff.

This means that we can work from anywhere with an internet connection and delegate the work of maintaining that infrastructure to an external service. At the same time, the availability of all our services is guaranteed practically 24/7.

How do you proceed by setting up Azure?

Azure is like a shop window where you are offered almost all the services you may need to support and deploy a project in the best conditions. A solid and well-connected structure. We could say that, in essence, Azure is not configured, but rather we are offered products that we already know with a simplified interface, and these are what is really configured. This allows us to save time and dedicate it to the customer’s needs.

Are there some difficulties or peculiarities you have to keep in mind?

Azure is a huge platform. It has a lot of resources and you must be careful about which ones you choose and how you work with them.

In our work environment, it is not efficient to know every single aspect of Azure, but it is efficient  (and mandatory) to know how to configure and work correctly with the tools we need. Another important part, derived from this knowledge, is the optimization of the resources we are using to achieve real savings compared to having the same resource structure on our own servers and avoid surprises in our bills.

What are the biggest challenges?

The learning curve is initially difficult. The biggest challenge is to know how to take the most out of what it offers us, to take advantage of the real benefits of Cloud Computing. No tool is efficient if it is not used correctly.

Getting the most efficient environment possible, to be able to run our projects and facilitate the work of all our colleagues is perhaps the biggest challenge that Azure offers us, as well as other cloud development platforms such as Amazon or Google.

What is the best thing on Azure?

The acceptance it has had in the software community. The vast majority of the tools and technologies we have been using in Fluance have been adapted for use in Azure, and developments and improvements continue.

Once we have overcome the learning curve, we have a user-friendly environment that allows us to answer many questions in a short time.

Thank you for this interview, Juan!