Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing platform. It offers virtual machines, app hosting, databases, storage, networking, AI and developer services, and it is closely connected to other Microsoft products used by many businesses.

Azure is organised into geographies and datacenter regions designed to meet data residency and compliance requirements. India regions include Central India, South India and West India, and Microsoft has announced an India South Central region. Microsoft advises checking that the services you need are available in the region you are considering.

Key features

• Virtual Machines. Windows and Linux virtual machines in many sizes, with B-series sizes included in the 12-month free offer.
• App Service. Managed hosting for web apps and APIs; up to 10 apps with 1 GB of storage are always free.
• Azure Functions. Serverless functions, with one million requests a month always free.
• Databases. Azure SQL Database, Azure Database for PostgreSQL and Azure Cosmos DB cover relational and NoSQL workloads.
• Azure DevOps. Repositories, pipelines and boards, free for up to five users with unlimited private repositories.
• Availability zones. Many regions offer separate zones for higher resilience.
• AI services. Services such as Azure Vision are part of the platform and appear in the free offers.

Who it is for

Azure suits organisations already using Microsoft software, such as Windows Server, SQL Server or Microsoft 365, as well as developers building .NET, Java, Node.js or Python applications. It serves start-ups through to large enterprises, and its several India regions help companies that need local data residency.

Pricing at a glance

Azure is pay-as-you-go, with no upfront commitment, and each service is priced separately. The Azure free account gives $200 in credit to use within 30 days. New customers also get 12 months of free monthly amounts of more than 20 services, such as 750 hours each of B1s, B2pts v2 and B2ats v2 virtual machines and 750 hours of Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server. More than 65 services are always free within limits, including Azure Functions (one million requests a month) and Azure Cosmos DB (1,000 RU/s and 25 GB). Prices as checked on 7 October 2026; confirm on the vendor's pricing page.

Things to consider

• Short credit window. The $200 credit lasts only 30 days, so plan tests to use it within that time.
• Free amounts have limits. Usage beyond the monthly free amounts is charged at pay-as-you-go rates.
• Regional differences. Not every service is available in every region; check before you commit.
• Breadth means complexity. The number of services, portals and options takes time to learn; budgets and cost alerts help.

Getting started

1. Read the Azure free account page and sign up.
2. Create a resource group and set a budget alert.
3. Pick a region, for example Central India, using the Azure geographies page.
4. Deploy a small App Service app or virtual machine, then configure access control and monitoring.