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Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is a global cloud platform spanning over 60 data center regions. In its 15-year journey, Azure has grown to become the world’s second-largest cloud provider alongside Amazon Web Services. From a customer perspective, Azure delivers three key advantages: a comprehensive service portfolio, seamless integration, and exceptional security.
 
Norrin’s Azure experience dates back to 2010, and today we recommend it as the backbone for almost all enterprise IT. In 2027, the new Finnish data center region (Vihti-Kirkkonummi-Espoo) will make Azure an even more natural and reliable choice for the most critical workloads.

A Comprehensive Service Portfolio

Azure is built for IT. Most of its services target either IT administrators or application developers. The service range spans from classic IaaS components (virtual machines, networks, storage) to higher-level PaaS solutions (Azure App Service, Azure Service Bus, ready-made databases, OpenAI AI services, etc.).
All services share a unified management layer. Deploying any Azure service follows a similar process, management takes place through the same web portal, and the same monitoring tools cover all services. Access management is also unified. Whether it’s users, apps, or agents, centralized Entra ID handles identity and permissions.
 
Nearly all Azure services are available from every data center. The most common locations for Finnish customers are West Europe (Amsterdam), Sweden Central (near Stockholm), and North Europe (Ireland). In 2027, the Finnish data center region will join this list, allowing data to be gradually moved closer to Finnish customers. For global needs, the same services can be replicated with various redundancy models across the world.

Seamless Integration Across IT

The strength of Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem is its ability to connect every aspect of enterprise IT effortlessly. Documents in Microsoft 365 can be easily accessed through integration platforms like Logic Apps, data from Dynamics can flow seamlessly into Azure, and applications running in Azure can connect directly to Teams or an organization’s Fabric data warehouse.
 
This connectivity is especially crucial for identity management (user authentication and authorization) and data processing. In fragmented IT environments, maintaining control is challenging. Azure is designed to function as a backend for everything Microsoft SaaS solutions don’t cover – such as Dynamics and Microsoft 365.
 
The more extensive and critical the IT environment, the more essential it is to eliminate data gaps and user friction. Azure doesn’t replace solid planning, but it provides the tools to see the whole organization’s needs in one place.

Microsoft Azure

Security and Data Protection at the Core

Microsoft Azure is built to meet both local and international security standards. By default, Azure-based services come with high resilience against cyberattacks, thanks to a highly scalable infrastructure that Microsoft continuously monitors.
 
However, using Azure doesn’t absolve the customer of responsibility for security. Some services provide built-in security support and guidance (e.g., Microsoft Defender for Cloud), while others are intended for active use by security professionals (e.g., Microsoft Sentinel).
 
When it comes to certifications and compliance, Azure has a lot to offer  with dozens of certifications covering various industries. For Nordic organizations, the most critical aspects are Microsoft’s strong commitment to EU data protection requirements and the EU Data Boundary framework, which prevents European data from being accessed by U.S. authorities.

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