Three Takeaways from Microsoft’s Azure Well-Architected Framework Announcement

Microsoft recently introduced its Azure Well-Architected Framework. According to the company, the framework “provides a set of Azure architecture best practices to help you build and deliver great solutions.” In simple terms, Microsoft has outlined architectural principles that you can use to successfully design and run workloads in the cloud.

If you’re familiar with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Well-Architected Framework, then Microsoft’s framework will look familiar to you. Like Amazon, Microsoft categorized its framework into these five pillars of architectural best practices:

• Cost optimization – Managing costs to maximize the value delivered.
• Operational excellence – Operations processes that keep a system running in production.
• Performance efficiency – Ability of a system to adapt to changes in load.
• Reliability – Ability of a system to recover from failures and continue to function.
• Security – Protecting applications and data from threats.

And, like Amazon, Microsoft designed the framework to help companies better optimize workloads for the cloud. This is especially timely, as companies are increasingly migrating to the cloud to adapt to changing work environments (e.g., the work-from-home movement) and to take advantage of the myriad benefits the public cloud provides (e.g., enhanced performance, reduced costs, scalability, etc.). In fact, Gartner predicts public cloud revenue to grow significantly in 2020, with desktop as a service expected to grow the most as enterprises look to support remote workers and cut costs.

What does this mean for cloud users?

Here are our three main takeaways of this announcement for Azure and AWS customers:

• We’re moving toward an industry standard. With two of the largest cloud providers aligning around a common well-architected framework, this is a significant advancement for the industry. The fact is, before Microsoft and Amazon implemented their Well-Architected Frameworks, there was a lot of confusion around the best way to move to the cloud. Now, architecture teams have a consistent method and documented best practices for designing and running workloads in a cloud environment. With the massive growth of the public cloud, this could not have come at a better time.
• Microsoft and Amazon are defining cloud vernacular. For too long, the cloud has meant different things to different people. Now, Microsoft and Amazon are establishing common terminology, which will clear up any lingering confusion. By using the same language and a documented framework, Azure and AWS customers have all the tools they need to successfully optimize workloads for the cloud.
• Organizations are better equipped to evaluate cloud providers and run hybrid cloud models. This is because all workloads, regardless of provider, now follow the same architectural framework. Rather than compare apples to oranges, companies can now compare apples to apples. There’s one framework that both Microsoft and Amazon adhere to, which means cloud customers can assess each provider against the same set of criteria. This capability is invaluable when determining the best cloud provider and technologies for your business.

The bottom line: navigating the complexity of today’s hybrid cloud environments is challenging enough. But Microsoft and Amazon are making strides to help companies streamline cloud deployments and increase success rates. And we’re here to help, too. If you’re interested in learning more about how Navisite can help you on your cloud journey, email us at hello@navisite.com.