How Does Azure and Office 365 Work Together?

Businesses around the globe are looking for opportunities to exploit the capabilities of cloud computing. The cloud technology delivers incredible processing power while simultaneously cutting down on capital costs which results in the net increase in productivity. Since the cloud is relatively safer, data security is enhanced easing the cybersecurity concerns of businesses.

As always, Microsoft cannot be behind when it comes to technological innovation. No doubts that some of the pioneering cloud technologies come from Microsoft. Among the myriad cloud solutions which Microsoft offers, there are two towering products – Azure and Office 365. While both solutions are built on cloud technology and complement each other to a certain extent, they offer services and solutions that are unique in their own ways.

Here’s a comprehensive study on how they are different and how Azure and Office 365 work together:

What Is a Cloud Solution?

Any computer system resource ranging from data storage to computing power that can be made available on-demand without any direct active management by the user is called a cloud solution. These resources are broadly divided into three categories often with overlapping elements.

• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) refers to the type of cloud computing that provides infrastructure service on demand. This entails renting out hardware solutions to users that are managed by the provider. This could include physical data centers, servers, and storage solutions or even network and firewall systems.

• Platform as a service (PaaS) essentially refers to IaaS with added services like operating systems and tools for development, database management, and analytics.
  
  
• Software as a service (SaaS) refers to the delivery model in which the software is centrally hosted and licensed to end users on a subscription basis.

What Is the Difference Between Office 365 and Azure?

Office 365 is a productivity suite that includes popular Microsoft applications such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint as well as services like OneDrive, Exchange, and Teams. These applications and services are managed by Microsoft and can be accessed by users from anywhere, anytime, and with any devices over the internet. It can be termed as a SaaS solution.

Azure, on the other hand, is a complicated case. Arguably, it can be classified either as IaaS or PaaS depending on how it is deployed. On one hand, users can purchase processing power and storage capacity for deploying their custom-built solutions. Alternatively, it can be used as an environment for developing and deploying web applications.

How Does Azure Work with Office 365?

While Azure can be a standalone subscription, it is a part of an Office 365 subscription. In other words, if you have a paid Office 365 subscription, you are using Azure services.

Office 365 users are using the Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) services to manage identities. Azure AD makes it possible to sync passwords and set up single sign-on in the cloud, hybrid, and on-premises configurations. This simplifies managing groups and user accounts. Azure can even be used for other purposes such as managing integrated applications for customizing Office 365.

There are different Azure AD editions with varying degrees of sophistication. A free subscription is sufficient for tasks like enabling single sign-on and synchronizing with on-premises directories and third-party SaaS applications. The paid premium subscription has additional management features, bi-directional synchronization, and other enhancements.

How to Get Azure Subscription from Office 365 Account?

Some businesses might need virtual machines and other Azure services which might not be a part of their Office 365 Plan. Such users may purchase an Azure subscription and use it along with their Office 365 plan provided it is supported.

Here’s how you can get an Azure subscription with your Office 365 username and password.

• Visit Azure.com and key in your username and password of the Office 365 account that has to be associated with Azure.
• Type in the details in the ‘About you’ screen.
• Click on Sign up at the bottom of the page once you are done.

Getting an Office 365 Subscription Using Azure Account

It is equally easy for an organization with an Azure Account to purchase an Office 365 subscription. Any account that has a Global Admin or Billing Admin permissions in Azure AD can be used for signing up for Office 365.

• Open the Office 365 product page and select a plan.
• Type in your Azure account credentials and sign in.
• Click on Try now on the Checkout page and click continue on the order receipt.

Using Azure and Office 365 Effectively

Hopefully, you are in a better position to understand how Azure and Office 365 work together. It must be added that choosing the right Office 365 plan will help you make better use of Azure services. Certain plans like Office 365 Enterprise E5 include the premium Azure features. In other cases, these features can be purchased as add-ons.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner and a Tier 1 CSP for Office 365 as well as Azure, Apps4Rent assists businesses procure, implement and customize various plans. We also provide in-depth consulting on how to manage your Azure and we can do it for you. Our technical expertise from Microsoft-certified experts is available round-the-clock via phone, chat, and email.

Contact our Apps4Rent’s sales team to know about the best offers on Office 365 subscriptions.