Azure Stack vs. Azure: A Guide to Choosing the Right Cloud Solution

Deciding that you want to move part or all of your environment to the cloud is only the first step in a larger modernization strategy. Businesses need to determine what kind of cloud computing model will best suit their needs, and whether certain workloads should remain in on-premises data centers or move to a hybrid environment.

Azure Stack and Azure represent two distinct cloud computing paradigms, offering unique advantages and considerations. Azure is Microsoft’s full-fledged public cloud, providing a vast array of services with global reach. In contrast, Azure Stack extends Azure’s capabilities into on-premises locations and data centers, offering three options – Azure Stack HCI, Azure Stack Hub, and Azure Stack Edge – each tailored to different scenarios, from hyperconverged infrastructure to edge computing.

Understanding the differences between these solutions in areas like costs, deployment, ownership, services and integration can guide your organization toward the most effective cloud strategy. We’ll break down these distinctions to help you make an informed decision that aligns with your business goals.

Is Azure Stack the Same as Azure?

In short: no, Azure Stack is not interchangeable with Azure.

Microsoft Azure is a fully managed public cloud platform hosted by Microsoft. It provides a broad range of cloud services—including compute, networking, storage, and advanced capabilities like ML and AI—through a global network of data centers. Azure is designed to offer scalable, on-demand resources and extensive integration with various Microsoft products and services.

Azure Stack, however, is an on-premises solution that extends Azure’s cloud capabilities into a local data center or edge location. It allows organizations to run Azure services in their own infrastructure, offering more control over their environment. Azure Stack is suitable for scenarios where compliance, data residency, or latency requirements necessitate a hybrid approach.

Understanding Azure Stack

Microsoft Azure Stack is a suite of hybrid cloud solutions that extends Azure’s cloud services and native capabilities to environments beyond the public cloud, enabling businesses to maximize the benefits of Azure Stack as part of a broader hybrid cloud strategy. Whether it’s your on-premises data center, an edge location, a remote office, or a third-party managed services provider, Azure Stack enables you to run Azure services consistently across all these environments.

The goal isn’t to choose between public cloud and on-premises, but to use each where it makes the most sense—creating a balanced, efficient, and resilient IT infrastructure that drives business success.

Azure Stack Infrastructure

Azure Stack is a key component of a hybrid cloud strategy, enabling organizations to extend Azure services and capabilities into their on-premises environments. By leveraging Azure Stack, businesses can build and deploy hybrid applications that span their entire IT ecosystem, seamlessly integrating compute, networking, and storage resources across both cloud and on-premises infrastructure.

The flexibility of Azure Stack lies in its ability to be deployed at different scales to meet varying business needs. Whether you’re deploying a small-scale solution for an edge computing location or a full-scale infrastructure in a large data center, Azure Stack provides the consistency and control of Azure with the added benefits of on-premises deployment. This flexibility allows you to optimize your IT environment for both current and future needs, without being locked into a single cloud model.

Advantages of Azure Stack

Azure Stack is an ideal solution for organizations seeking to harness the benefits of a hybrid cloud environment while maintaining control over specific workloads. It provides a unique blend of cloud innovation and on-premises control, making it particularly valuable for businesses with diverse and evolving IT needs.

For organizations that prefer to keep certain workloads on-premises—whether due to regulatory requirements, data sovereignty, or a need for low-latency processing—Azure Stack offers the perfect balance between cloud scalability and on-premises security. It enables businesses to modernize their IT infrastructure without the need to fully migrate to the public cloud, allowing them to leverage existing investments in on-premises hardware.

Additionally, Azure Stack offers the following benefits:

• Proximity to Users for Low Latency: By deploying Azure Stack in locations close to end-users—whether in on-premises data centers, edge locations, or remote offices—you can significantly reduce latency and improve application performance. This is particularly beneficial for industries like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing, where real-time data processing is crucial.
• Consistent Tools and Processes: With Azure Stack, you can use the same tools, APIs, and development processes across both cloud and on-premises environments. This consistency reduces the learning curve for IT teams and ensures smoother operations, as familiar workflows and management practices are maintained.
• Scalability and Innovation: Azure Stack enables organizations to scale their operations as needed, whether by expanding on-premises resources or integrating with Azure’s public cloud. This scalability ensures that your IT environment can grow with your business, supporting innovation and digital transformation initiatives.

Disadvantages of Azure Stack

Deciding whether to run workloads in the public cloud or on-premises with Azure Stack isn’t just about the technology—it’s about understanding which environment best suits your specific needs. Azure Stack offers a powerful extension of Azure’s capabilities, but it’s important to recognize that not every workload is an ideal candidate for on-premises deployment. Some workloads naturally align with the strengths of public cloud, such as those requiring global scalability, high availability, or access to the latest Azure services and innovations. For these workloads, public Azure provides unmatched flexibility and the ability to quickly adapt to changing business needs.

On the other hand, workloads that require strict data sovereignty, low-latency processing, or close proximity to specific users or devices might be better suited for deployment on Azure Stack. By carefully evaluating your workloads, you can determine which should remain on-premises and which are better suited for public cloud. This approach ensures that each workload is optimized for performance, compliance, and cost-effectiveness.

Additionally, successfully implementing a hybrid cloud strategy with Azure Stack requires not just knowledge of on-premises infrastructure, but also deep expertise in public cloud configurations and services. Understanding how to integrate and manage workloads across both environments is crucial; this includes configuring virtual networks, managing identity and access, and ensuring security and compliance across the hybrid environment.

For businesses that are still building their cloud expertise, working with a managed service provider for Azure Stack can help bridge the gap. These partners bring the necessary skills and experience to configure and manage both Azure Stack and public Azure environments, ensuring that your hybrid cloud strategy is executed effectively and efficiently.

Understanding Azure

Businesses can access a large set of cloud computing services through Microsoft Azure, a public cloud solution containing a global network of data centers.

Azure Infrastructure

Azure’s infrastructure is designed to eliminate the complexities of managing on-premises hardware by offering robust infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) solutions. These services enable organizations to focus on building and deploying applications without the burden of managing physical servers, storage, or networking. Azure’s infrastructure encompasses core services such as compute, networking, storage, and databases, but it doesn’t stop there. It also includes advanced capabilities like machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT), which allow businesses to leverage innovative technologies to drive digital transformation. By providing a fully managed environment, Azure allows organizations to rapidly scale their operations, reduce costs, and focus on their core business objectives.

Advantages of Azure

Because of its global reach and extensive service offerings, Azure is a highly reliable and flexible platform for businesses of all sizes. One of its key strengths is the ability to scale resources up or down based on demand, with an OpEx, pay-as-you-go pricing model that ensures you only pay for what you use. This flexibility makes Azure an attractive option for businesses with fluctuating workloads or those seeking cost-effective cloud solutions.

Azure’s integration capabilities are another significant advantage, especially for organizations already invested in Microsoft products like Windows Server, SQL Server, or Office 365. These integrations streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and provide a seamless experience across different environments. Also, Azure’s comprehensive security measures—ranging from encryption to compliance certifications—allow businesses to trust that their data and applications are protected, letting them focus on innovation and growth without worrying about infrastructure-level security.

Disadvantages of Azure

Public cloud computing doesn’t magically make business processes easier. Organizations need to configure their environments for effective integrations, peak performance, and optimized costs. If businesses integrate too much, they also run the risk of vendor lock-in, making it harder to shop for competitive prices and move to other platforms in the future. Although Azure provides a comprehensive suite of cloud services, it’s important to evaluate how well it meets the specific needs of your workloads. Not every workload is ideally suited for a public cloud environment, and understanding these limitations can help you make informed decisions about where to deploy your applications.

Azure’s public cloud environment excels in providing scalable resources and a wide range of services, but not all workloads may benefit from or require this level of cloud sophistication. For example, workloads that require extremely low latency, high data residency, or strict regulatory compliance might be better suited for on-premises or edge environments. Evaluating the nature of your workloads is crucial to determine if Azure is the right fit. So, before migrating workloads, it’s important to consider the following elements:

• Performance needs
• Data sensitivity
• Regulatory requirements

While Azure offers a robust set of services, integrating these services into your existing IT infrastructure can be complex. Businesses need to ensure that their applications and processes are configured correctly to work seamlessly with Azure’s environment. This includes addressing potential challenges related to data migration, application compatibility, and maintaining performance across hybrid setups. Proper planning and expert guidance are required to optimize these integrations and ensure that the benefits of Azure are fully realized. An additional challenge of Azure includes the need for careful management to avoid unexpected costs within its pay-as-you-go pricing model. Workloads with fluctuating usage patterns or complex resource requirements can lead to higher expenses if not monitored and managed effectively. Implementing cost control measures, such as setting up budgets and using Azure’s cost management tools, is essential to keep costs in check and ensure that spending aligns with business objectives.

Key Differences Between Azure Stack vs. Azure

Despite their similar names and some overlapping tools and capabilities, Microsoft Azure and Azure Stack serve distinct purposes. They also have important differences outside of Azure being a public cloud platform and Azure Stack being an on-premises solution.

Ownership and Management

Microsoft handles the underlying infrastructure for Azure, including hardware maintenance, data center operations, and basic security measures. However, users are responsible for managing their own resources within the Azure environment. This includes configuring services, managing applications, setting up access controls, and ensuring compliance with their organizational policies. Essentially, Microsoft manages the cloud infrastructure, while users manage their individual cloud resources and applications.

With Azure Stack, organizations have ownership and control over the physical hardware and the infrastructure within their premises. This setup allows businesses to customize their environment to meet specific requirements, such as data residency or compliance needs. While Azure Stack integrates with Azure to provide a consistent experience and can be managed using similar tools, the organization is responsible for the management and operation of the on-premises infrastructure.

Services and Features

There’s no need to worry about falling behind with Azure, which offers IaaS, PaaS, and software as a service (SaaS) cloud services, continuous updates, and access to features as they become available. Although both platforms offer similar core services, Azure Stack does not have the full range of Azure’s capabilities due to its on-premises nature. Azure Stack focuses on essential services and features that are compatible with on-premises deployment.

Cost Considerations

As mentioned previously, Azure’s pricing is based on a pay-as-you-go model for cloud resources, which can scale up or down based on usage. Azure Stack requires upfront investment in hardware and ongoing management costs, which may differ depending on the scale and complexity of the deployment.

Integration with Azure Services

Azure integrates seamlessly with Microsoft’s public cloud services and other third-party cloud providers. Azure Stack extends this integration to on-premises environments, allowing for a hybrid cloud model that can bridge public and private cloud resources.

Use Cases for Azure Stack vs. Azure

Azure Stack and Azure offer distinct solutions for organizations seeking to leverage cloud technologies.

Use Cases for Azure Stack

When organizations are looking for a mix of control and flexibility, Azure Stack can be a great fit. Although there are multiple use cases, the following four can serve as examples to help you decide whether it’s the right solution for you:

• Hybrid Cloud Integration: Azure Stack enables seamless integration between on-premises and cloud environments, making it easier to build and manage hybrid cloud solutions. Organizations can deploy applications and workloads in Azure Stack while leveraging Azure’s public cloud for additional scalability and global reach.
• Edge Computing: Generate real-time insights, boost performance, and reduce latency by processing data at the edge using Azure Stack. IoT devices, remote work, and other digital transformation projects can be aided by edge computing.
• DevOps and Application Development: Azure Stack can create a consistent environment that DevOps and application development teams can use for building, testing, and iterating on programs.
• Regulatory Compliance and Data Residency: For organizations that must adhere to strict data residency or compliance requirements, Azure Stack allows them to run Azure services on-premises, keeping sensitive data within their local environment. This is especially important for industries such as finance, government, and healthcare, where data sovereignty is a critical concern.

Use Cases for Azure

As a public cloud platform, Azure has a wide array of services that can suit many different workloads. As with Azure Stack, there are numerous uses for Azure. The following use cases are meant to serve as examples of how organizations can be supported by this public cloud solution:

• IaaS and PaaS: With public cloud, organizations can build and deploy applications, databases, and virtual machines (VMs) without worrying about the infrastructure layer.
• Big Data and Analytics: Azure’s public cloud is capable of processing large volumes of data, making it easier for businesses to analyze their data and gain valuable insights.
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Better analytics and insights are supported by AI/ML technologies. AI models can learn from historical data and generate insights for better, more efficient decision-making. AI/ML can also be used to cut down on manual processes, freeing up your team’s time for more creative, strategic projects. Azure has a host of AI services businesses can use to accelerate their processes.
• DevOps and Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): While Azure Stack can also be good for DevOps teams, Azure DevOps is a public cloud resource that can automate software development and deployment processes to accelerate time-to-market and reduce the risk of manual errors.

Can You Take a Hybrid Approach to Azure Stack vs. Azure?

Luckily, businesses don’t have to take an either/or approach when evaluating Azure Stack vs. Azure. There are many benefits to a hybrid cloud approach enabled by incorporating both into your organization. Azure Stack is an extension of Azure, bringing consistent applications and services across environments. This enables more flexible application modernization and robust disaster recovery.

TierPoint can help you bring together Azure and Azure Stack within a hybrid cloud approach and managed services. Our expertise in public, private and hybrid cloud infrastructure can help businesses deploy and select the right cloud mix that meets their business requirements, whether that ends up being Azure and Azure Stack or something entirely different. Learn more about our Azure services and start a conversation with our team of hybrid cloud experts today.

Learn more about our Azure services and start a conversation with our team of hybrid cloud experts today.