In 2020 alone, Microsoft Azure cloud hosting, commonly referred to as Azure, grew by 48%. While many businesses may be discovering the benefits of Azure cloud computing software, they may be unaware of the importance of an Azure health check and how it can benefit their business. In this guide, we explore everything you need to know about Azure health checks.

What is a Microsoft Azure health check?

An Azure health check is an analysis of the IT environment of a business. During a health check, an Azure specialist will review your cloud adoption to identify areas of your Azure environment that need to be improved and ensure that your environment is optimised, backed up, and secure. These checks aim to provide a 360-degree insight into potential opportunities to optimise your Azure environment. Ultimately, a health check can help you save time, money and optimise the efficiency of your IT environment.

How does an Azure health check work?

In its simplest form, a health check will assess your current online Azure environment and compare it to an optimal environment. The infrastructure of your Azure will be analysed and your data will be collected safely, in line with GDPR. Once an Azure health specialist has an in-depth understanding of your environment, they will be able to identify areas where your infrastructure could be optimised and flag potential issues with your cloud technology.

Signs you may need an Azure health check

If you are a cloud computing novice or simply do not have the time to give your cloud computing operations the time and management they deserve, you may be unsure if your business could benefit from an Azure health check. Without a health check, businesses risk running their cloud operations in a state of unknown and compromise the efficiency and security of their business. If you identify with any of the following criteria, it is likely your business is long over-due for a health check.

• You use IaaS resources through ASM which are being retired in 2023
• You struggle with completing regular back-ups, patching or monitoring
• Your infrastructure lacks adequate virus protection
• You are wasting resources on improper virtual machine sizing
• You suspect you are paying too much for your Azure environment
• Your business operations could be more efficient and streamlined

What are the benefits of a Microsoft Azure health check?

Microsoft Azure health checks ensure that your company is receiving optimal performance from your Azure software. More often than not, problems with Azure (or areas that could be improved) will go unnoticed. The less you know about your Azure, the more prone you will be to unknown problems that could affect your overall company performance.

Improve your security

A security breach can be detrimental to your company. If customers do not feel as though their details will be safe on your website, they will simply take their business elsewhere. An Azure health check can help your business to mitigate security risks as it will identify critical security oversights or vulnerabilities. After a thorough health check, you can have confidence your risk posture has been improved.

Cost reduction

Optimising Azure infrastructure will not only help to supercharge the efficiency of your business, but it will also enable you to make cost-effective choices. For example, an Azure health check can identify SQL databases and VMs that are underutilised and can be adjusted to reduce costs. You may currently be paying for features that you simply don’t need or spending more than you know on Azure. Custom recommendations for cost reductions will not only allow your business to save money but will also enable you to better allocate your budget for further growth and transformations.

Optimise migration and growth

As you continue to take advantage of cloud technology and move further workloads to Azure, you must continue to modernise and migrate new applications successfully. A health check will help you unlock the true potential of the cloud for your business and help you to optimise and modernise your applications and workflows. The benefits of Microsoft Azure for your business can be monumental, but only if your programme is working to its optimal potential.

Ensure compliance

A health check can ensure your organisation is using Azure cloud technology in line with best practices within your industry and ensure you are compliant with relevant rules and regulations within your industry and region. Should the health check uncover compliance issues for your company, it will present actionable recommendations that explain where your governance stands compared to industry compliance and what actions you need to take to ensure compliance.

Make well-informed decisions

Cloud technology has the potential to provide your business with some incredible features and further your business growth. A health check will allow you to make well-informed decisions that have a clear impact on the growth and success of your business. For example, a health check can show you how to decide which advanced Azure services could benefit your business, such as DevOps, AI and IoT. The right health check will not only help you to embrace digital tools but will also ensure you choose the right tools.

Does Shaping Cloud offer a Microsoft Azure health check?

Microsoft Azure, which is currently used by over 230,000 companies worldwide, can help a business easily migrate and operate in the cloud, provided it is used in the right way. At Shaping Cloud, we offer first-class Azure health check services that can give you invaluable insight into your Azure structure and identify potential opportunities and limitations within your Azure environment.

After a health check, we will provide you with a detailed report clearly explaining the key areas of your cloud environment that need to be improved for Azure optimisation and cost-saving decisions you can make.

Shaping Cloud Microsoft Azure Health Check Services

Why not get in touch with a member of our team to book your health check today?