THREE MAIN SERVICE MODELS PROVIDED BY AZURE

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform that provides three main service models. These models offer different levels of control, flexibility and management, allowing businesses to choose the best fit for their needs. These models are;

1. **Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) in Azure : IaaS provides
   virtualized computing resources over the internet. Users manage OS,
   middleware and applications, while Azure handles the hardware,
   networking and virtualization. Below is a picture explaining
   Infrastructure as a Service.

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*KEY AZURE IaaS SERVICES:

*

• Azure Virtual Machines (VMs): Deploy Windows or Linux VMs in the cloud
  
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• Azure Virtual Network (VNet): Create isolated, secure cloud networks
  
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• Azure Storage (Blobs, Disks and Files): Scalable storage for backups,
  
  files and data
  
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• Azure Load Balancer: Distribute network traffic across VMs
  
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Use Cases:

• Migrating on-premises servers to the cloud




• Running enterprise applications in a scalable environment




• Hosting development and test environments

ADVANTAGES OF IaaS

• Full control over OS and software




• Flexibility




• Pay-as-you-go pricing (no upfront hardware costs)

1. *PLATFORM AS A SERVICE (PaaS) in Azure
   * PaaS provides a cloud-based platform for developing, testing and deploying applications. Azure manages servers, storage and networking while developers focus on coding and deployment.
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KEY AZURE PaaS SERVICES

• Azure App Services: Host web apps, APIs and mobile backends. Azure App
  
  Service provides a framework for developing and running apps in the
  
  cloud. PaaS providers host and maintain the platform's servers,
  
  networks, storage, and other computing resources.
  
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• Azure SQL Database: Managed relational database service
  
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• Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS): Managed Kubernetes for containers
  
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• Azure Functions: Serverless computing for event-driven apps
  
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*Use Cases

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• Building and deploying web applications quickly




• Developing microservices and containerized apps




• Using serverless computing for auto-scaling workloads

*ADVANTAGES *

• No server management (Azure handles OS, patches, scaling)




• Faster development with built-in tools (CI/CD, DevOps).




• Automatic scaling based on demand

**3) Software as a Service (SaaS) in Azure

SaaS delivers ready-to-use software applications over the internet.

users access apps via a browser with no installation or maintenance

required

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KEY AZURE SaaS OFFERINGS

• Microsoft 365 (office 365, Teams, outlook): Cloud-based productivity
  
  suite




• Dynamics 365 : Enterprise CRM and ERP solutions




• Azure AI Services- Pre-built AI Services: Pre-built AI models (vision,
  
  speech, language).

Use Cases

• Using cloud-based email (outlook) and collaboration (Teams)




• Running business applications like CRM (Dynamics 365)




• Integrating AI capabilities without building models from scratch.

*ADVANTAGES

*

• No installations or updates (fully managed by Microsoft)




• Accessible from anywhere (web or mobile)




• Subscription-based pricing (pay per user or usage)

Conclusion

Azure supports all three cloud service models:

a) IaaS for full infrastructure control (e.g., VMs, storage)

b) PaaS for streamlined app development (e.g., App Service, AKS).

c) SaaS for ready-made software (e.g. Office 365, Dynamics 365)

Business can mix and match these models to optimize cost, flexibility and management.