Data Security

Security in Microsoft Azure is built in at different levels and can be customised per customer requirements. At the outermost layer is the built-in Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) protection of the platform. DDOS protection kicks in when a DDOS attack is detected and reaches a specific, predefined threshold. In the recently concluded Microsoft Ignite event, DDOS protection at the VNet level was announced, offering the same capabilities as normal DDOS protection now at network level. This level of protection comes in addition to the inbound and outbound network traffic management options provided by Network Security Groups (NSGs), which only allow permitted traffic to traverse the virtual machines.

Capacity Management

Capacity planning for storage is a time-consuming activity. In most organisations, the onus is on catering for exponential data growths. Microsoft Azure offers a hybrid architecture storage solution named StorSimple that helps address this challenge.

StorSimple has built-in features that address all the storage requirements of an enterprise business, including data tiering, archiving, compression, DR and off-site storage. The automated data tiering feature intelligently places data in the SSD, HDD or cloud storage tier based on the usage pattern. Frequently used data will be found in the SSD tier, less-frequently used data is automatically tiered to HDD and cloud tier based on the data heat map.

Single-Pane Operations

Last but not the least, it is important to have a single pane of management to gain visibility and insights into what is happening with your infrastructure, whether it’s hosted on-prem or in the cloud. Microsoft Operation Management Suite (OMS) is a Management-as-a-Service (MaaS) that provides a single-pane view of hybrid environments. At the heart of OMS is a log analytics solution which can connect with various data sources such as VMs, storage and network services, collect and analyse logs, and provide valuable insights. OMS also includes automation and security solutions to meet the new standards for operating with hybrid infrastructures. Azure Automation is a versatile solution which uses PowerShell in the back end to automate complex operational tasks, both in the cloud and on-premises, using agents called Hybrid Workers. The security solutions bundled with OMS can provide insights into the security posture of connected resources such as patch level, malware infections, threat intelligence, and more. Azure security centre is another service that offers security guidelines and remediation by cross-checking Azure environment service deployments with Azure’s best practice recommendations. The Backup and Site recovery services discussed earlier in this article can also be bundled with the OMS suite of services.