Nowadays, with technology playing a big part of most organisation’s infrastructure, there are a lot of different products, services, platforms and solutions that a business can integrate into their organisation. At the end of the day, it may come down to preference; but for many organisations, the best option for building a modern, digitally-native business infrastructure would be Microsoft.
Microsoft for Business
Microsoft have been in the business of helping businesses modernize with technology for nearly 50 years. Nowadays, they have an entire network of partners who provide other businesses with support and other services relating to their products and services. We spoke with one of these partners on the matter; TechQuarters are a Microsoft Partner whose IT support services London-based small businesses have been using for more than 12 years. When we asked them about it, they described what a Microsoft-based infrastructure looks like, and what benefits it holds for a small business. They provide Managed IT Services London businesses trust and rely on – this is what they had to say:
What Does A Microsoft-based Infrastructure Look Like?
For decades, Microsoft have been at the vanguard of business information technology, shaping what the modern business looks like. According to TechQuarters, and to the wider global business community, the future of business infrastructure is cloud-based. Below are three examples of how Microsoft’s products and services can provide the foundations of a business’ infrastructure.
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Microsoft Azure
At the very foundations of a Microsoft-based business infrastructure, you have Microsoft Azure. This is the company’s public cloud platform, on which organisations can build virtual machines, datacentres and more. Microsoft Azure actually comprises of 3 core services:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – this is the most granular service offered. It allows organisations to build virtual servers to host and run all of the different components of their IT stack. A cloud-based infrastructure is much more resilient and Having provided IT support for estate agents and many other types of business, TechQuarters recommends from experience the benefits of IaaS.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) – this service is slightly more build-up than the previous. The platform and environment is already (for the most part) pre-configured. Organisations can use the platform to host their applications and data, and even build their own custom apps. This is service is easier to setup, but offers less control.
- Software as a Service (SaaS) – the least granular of the three services. All of Microsoft’s products (such as Outlook Online, or the Office 365 Portal) are SaaS, because they are available from a web browser. Azure SaaS enables companies to do this for themselves, and make their client-facing apps and services available via web browser.
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Microsoft SharePoint
Now, the Microsoft Cloud isn’t just used within the backbone of an organisation’s IT infrastructure, it also can be used to build company intranet. This is where Microsoft SharePoint comes in. It is a cloud platform that is a part of Microsoft 365, and it is one of the most useful products that Microsoft offers. The way that SharePoint works is that organisations create sites. A site can be created for sharing news and information to its members, or a site can be created for active collaboration, file sharing, and document management. TechQuarters, for example, have SharePoint sites for each of their departments (marketing, sales, technical, etc.)
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Microsoft Teams
Similarly with Microsoft SharePoint, Teams is a product that organisations can use for structuring their communications, collaborations, and daily productivity. Microsoft Teams is a unified communications and collaboration platform. It combines instant messaging, telephony and video conferencing, as well as integrating with SharePoint and OneDrive (the personal cloud file management service), and the productivity apps like Word, Excel, OneNote, and more. According to TechQuarters, Microsoft Teams is the lynchpin for their daily communications, and general work management.
