Microsoft Azure is an ever-expanding set of services to help an organisation meet business challenges. Azure is a cloud platform for building, deploying and managing services and applications, allowing you and your clients to meet all your needs through all their services, within one platform.

Their on-premise servers are out-of-date

Operating on out-of-date servers is like driving a rusty old car. First you lose a wing mirror, then a door panel until you’re left in the street clutching nothing more than the steering wheel.

Azure, in contrast, is like a well-oiled machine. It has strong security capabilities and an IT management time saving of 80 percent. With Azure, your clients can always operate efficiently without fear of a breakdown.

They still have on-premise backups

How many clients are still backing up their data to an on-premise server? If your answer is more than zero, it’s time to pitch Azure.

Azure backup automatically backs up data to the cloud, triple replicating and then geo-replicating it across multiple data centres, meaning your clients always have access to a copy of their data, no matter what happens.

They’re worried about ransomware

If your clients are still on the fence about Azure, the recent WannaCry ransomware attack should sway them.

Resilient backup capabilities and a state-of-the-art security centre, which features the likes of Azure Threat Detection, means your clients can easily monitor, identify and shut down threats and protect their data with backups. Combined with upgrades to Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility and Security, you can offer your clients greater peace of mind.

They’ve already adopted Office 365

60 million businesses already use Office 365, some of whom are probably your customers. Yet most are failing to take advantage of the complete Azure package.

As a service provider, it’s your role to educate customers on everything they’re missing out on. Clients with Office 365 should take to Azure with ease, especially when they find out that it’s fully compliant, secure and affordable software solution, offering far more than online Word processors.

They have centralised applications but flexible working practices

BYOD and flexible working practices are on the rise, and Azure is the key to transparent device management whether its on-premise or off-site.

Azure makes it easier to support mobile and flexible working. Anyone with an internet connection can use cloud-based services. Combinded with Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility Suite, your customers can hit peak productivity regardless of their location.

They’re struggling to manage a development

The business benefits of Azure extend further than high security capabilities and cloud backups. Azure allows clients to design, develop, test and deliver custom applications easily.

The architecture behind Azure gives your clients everything they need to manage a complete development and test environment straight from the cloud.

They’re suffering compliance issues

As of May, this year, all businesses must be compliant with new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Microsoft has always sought to help businesses remain compliant, such as creating UK-based data centres, and it built Azure with GDPR in mind. Azure’s services are all in line with new regulations, giving your clients the freedom and confidence to operate.

They’re suffering from lengthy deployment times

Thanks to Azure, businesses can deploy applications easily from any location, cutting deployment time by more than 50 percent and giving your clients complete control over which apps get installed on what devices.

They’re struggling to scale

If your clients are still using legacy systems, they’re probably suffering from scalability issues. Azure uses auto-scaling, meaning that clients can quickly scale to handle load increases, letting Microsoft take care of the infrastructure.

They’re paying too much for infrastructure

Legacy on-premise infrastructure is costly. If your clients are still paying for data storage they’re not using, they need to move to Azure.

Azure is a pay-as-you-go services with no upfront costs or termination fees, meaning your customers only pay for what they use, and never anymore.

Hosting on a cloud platform like Azure does come with its cost, and it can be quite a complex process. Before deploying Azure, you need to make sure you client can cover these costs and understanding the process.