Microsoft Azure is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud computing platform by Microsoft. Users of the platform can deploy their applications onto cloud hosting benefiting from on-demand service, elastic scale, and a highly managed environment on a pay-as-you-go basis.

With Azure, you get the freedom to build and deploy wherever you want, using the tools, applications, and frameworks of your choice.

Deploy anywhere with your choice of tools

Choose how you deploy Azure—connecting cloud and on-premises with consistent hybrid cloud capabilities and using open source technologies—for maximum portability and value from your existing investments.

Build your apps, your way

Use the tools and open source technologies you already know and trust, because Azure supports a broad selection of operating systems, programming languages, frameworks, databases, and devices. 

Extend on-premises data and apps

Azure offers hybrid consistency everywhere: in application development, management and security, identity management, and across the data platform.

Deploy the cloud on-premises

Bring Azure capabilities to your datacenter with Azure Stack. Leverage the Azure portal, PowerShell, and DevOps tools experience and app model across the cloud and on-premises.

Protect your business with the most trusted cloud

Ninety percent of Fortune 500 companies trust the Microsoft Cloud, and so can you. Azure helps protect your assets through a rigorous methodology and focus on security, privacy, compliance, and transparency.

Achieve global scale, in local regions

Extend your global reach with the cloud service that offers more countries and regions than any other provider. Azure runs on a worldwide network of Microsoft-managed datacenters across 40 announced regions. 

Detect and mitigate threats

Get a central view of all your Azure resources. Azure Security Center helps you prevent, detect, and respond to threats with increased visibility and control over the security of all your Azure resources.

Rely on the most trusted cloud

Trust the cloud that offers the most comprehensive compliance coverage with 50 compliance offerings. Azure has been recognized as the most trusted cloud for U.S. government institutions, including a FedRAMP High authorization that covers 18 Azure services.

Accelerate app innovation

Build simple to complex projects within a consistent portal experience using deeply-integrated cloud services, so you can rapidly develop, deploy, and manage your apps.

Build apps quickly and easily

Whether you’re building internet-scale applications or simple mobile apps, develop and iterate faster and easier using the integrated tools, APIs, and analytics in Azure.

Manage apps proactively

Use the Azure portal, Application Insights, and Operations Management Suite to gain insights that help you quickly monitor, iterate, and manage your apps and systems.

Deliver mobile apps seamlessly

Build mobile apps faster for any popular form factor and operating system using continuous development and DevOps tools such as Xamarin.

Power decisions and apps with insights

Uncover business insights with advanced analytics and data services for both traditional and new data sources. Detect anomalies, predict behaviors, and recommend actions for your business.

Add intelligence to your apps

Engage your customers in new and interesting ways using artificial intelligence capabilities. With Cognitive Services and the Bot Framework, create the kind of app interactions that feel natural and delight users. 

Predict and respond proactively

Make smarter decisions, and uncover new possibilities from your structured, unstructured, and streaming Internet of Things data using predictive analytics services such as Machine Learning.

Support your strategy with any data

Draw insights from multiple data sources—including ERP and CRM systems, web, and big data—and integrate your apps with tools you use every day such as Power BI and Microsoft Excel.