Technology is advancing at supersonic speed in this digital era. While all agree that it is crucial to stay updated with the latest operating systems and other digital capabilities, the process is very time consuming and expensive — taking a toll on your hardware and your budget.
Companies globally strongly feel that they need to keep purchasing new equipment or upgrade their existing servers and end devices to meet the growing need for memory, storage spaces, and power to keep their apps up and running. Thanks to Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines, businesses have another option.
Think of a virtual machine or VM as a second or backup server without a physical device attached to it. They can be remotely accessed from anywhere in the world, which is a great feature given the rise in remote working and the current COVID-19 pandemic.
In theory, it is defined as a computer in a virtual space with its own components such as the CPU, storage, and network interfaces. What does this mean? It means that software or an app that is run on a virtual machine cannot tamper with the devices that access it. It will help your business run, install and use various apps, programs and operating systems without making use of or exhausting your existing resources.
This makes a VM setup ideal for production apps and services, testing, releasing beta versions of software when required, or reporting and analysing data that without affecting the original.
When you choose to invest in a VM, you are paying for components such as memory, CPU, and disk space on a server in a data centre. Your VM will run alongside other virtual machines that companies have commissioned on the same server.
You have complete authority as a business to choose where you want your VM’s data centre to be based and to assign it the resources that you need. Once you deploy a virtual machine, you will be able to access it securely from anywhere in the world, using any device.
There are a number of benefits to using a VM, and you don’t have to be an IT expert to understand them.
Accounts and Finance teams who run monthly billing for clients will find VMs particularly useful, for example, in running software like Pastel Partner, Sage VIP, QuickBooks and SYSPRO. They’ll be able to continue their work on their machines as normal, while payroll and invoice processes are done on a VM in the background.
The fact that VMs runs separately from the rest of your systems makes them great for:
Using Microsoft Azure VM can have many advantages, including:
If you need more memory, CPU or disk space, it is easy to add on to your existing VM package. Also, the additional memory or disk space is not restricted to one VM – if you’re using multiple virtual machines, you can have it split between them.
Not only is all data stored on Azure VMs encrypted, but you’ll also be able to identify and analyse compromised files and apps on your VM, giving you the time and resources to improve security before your servers become infected.
Businesses can customise VMs and choose the region, redundancy, memory, CPU and disk space they need. The easy process is quick and hassle-free, and your VM will be ready to use in no time.
Setting up virtual machines is not restricted to a single operating system, which means that you can run apps that your devices and servers do not usually support or have built-in.
Azure VM offers the freedom to choose from a wide range of regions around the globe. You can even run the same server in multiple regions, with failover between them, saving you from data disasters when they occur.
If you already have your own license, there is no need to pay for a new one – just bring it along. Those who do not have licenses can choose to include one as part of their package using flexible licensing terms.
When you buy or provision a physical server, a large investment is required upfront, not to mention the maintenance fees that are incurred over time. Virtual machines eliminate the need for huge down payments, as they run on monthly billing cycles.
There are various kinds of VMs available in a range of Azure VM sizes, and covering different functionality to suit every business. Some of them include:
This Azure VM service is the most economical. It offers low-cost solutions for small workloads. While they mostly run on low CPU and memory capacities, they have the potential to provide more for short stints when needed. If your business deals with continual or regular high workloads, then this option may not be ideal for you.
An Azure Compute Optimised VM provides more CPU space than memory and is an ideal choice if your business needs heavy computations, handles and processes substantial financial data, or needs video processing. It’s high processing power makes it the best Azure VM for web servers.
A General Purpose Azure VM offers a good balance of CPU, memory, and storage, making it perfect for handling general workloads. You will be able to perform a wide range of tasks and processes, and it is great for running multiple apps on a single server without any glitches.
This type of Azure Virtual Machine is ideal workloads that need a lot memory, like databases and caches. The memory is fast, easy to access, and reliable, helping you pull critical information quickly. This makes it the best Azure VM for SQL servers.
At Solid Systems, we take pride in building relationships and helping businesses achieve their goals. We do not believe in offering predesigned, off-the-shelf products. We love to walk through every step of the journey, helping you to choose the right technology to see your business meet its goals.
When you partner with us for Microsoft Azure VMs our IT pros will help you to:
To understand Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Pricing, do not hesitate to contact us.
Since 2003, we have specialised in delivering leading technology solutions and offering guidance to organisations in South Africa and abroad, in the most human way possible.
We love technology and the exciting ways that it evolves, and are constantly improving the tools that we use. But humans are at the heart of our business. That’s why we value each relationship and prioritise a personal approach, finding solutions that deliver results for your company in the best way possible.
With our highly skilled and passionate professionals behind us, and the latest and most sophisticated tools at their disposal, we ensure that the businesses we work with are constantly evolving, and can step into the future with confidence.
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