In every industry across the globe, businesses are transforming to meet new customer demands. Buyers and sellers now interact daily through social and mobile channels, expect fast issue resolution, and mandate anywhere, anytime commerce.
To meet these needs, IT leaders are deploying digital and analytics solutions on flexible cloud platforms, such as Microsoft Azure. And software development teams are using innovative tools to implement Agile and DevOps methodologies.
Underlying this transformation are infrastructure platforms that pair cloud-based storage, compute, and networks with automated cloud management and service catalogs, collectively known as service-oriented infrastructure (SOI).
Service-oriented Infrastructure
SOI connects application developers to cloud infrastructure resources - IaaS, PaaS and SaaS - precisely when they need them. Whether public, private, or hybrid, it provides one-click access to complete cloud-based development environments and managed services through a catalog of choices.
Using SOI, industry leaders are now transforming from existing compute platforms to cost-effective SOI settings like Azure infrastructure, DevTest Labs, and Service Catalogs, that speed innovation, lower time-to-market, and deliver competitive advantage.
With this new flexibility, storage and compute can originate from the most efficient and cost effective resource. Reaching this desired state, however, requires a clear understanding of the starting point and destination, and how to guide the journey.
Service Catalogs
Service catalogs are a critical component in this coveted SOI environment. They allow IT teams to create and manage a portfolio of templates and solutions for use by application developers. This enables IT to centrally manage approved services and ensure compliance.
With service catalogs, developers can quickly find and implement these approved solutions with less ramp up time and fewer concerns about their upgrades or management.
And with a single set of approved services in the catalog, developer environments remain consistent across all parts of the software lifecycle – design, code, build, test, and deploy – and across all development efforts in the company.
Azure SOI and Service Catalogs
This rapid and automated access to developer services from a single location can be easily enabled within the Azure cloud by using its DevTest Labs and Managed Applications Service Catalog features.
Broad deployment of this simplified set of Microsoft cloud solutions can quickly replace one-off scripts and version control issues with an efficient, automated process. Furthermore, the combination reduces provisioning times to hours or minutes.
With Azure Managed Applications Service Catalogs, IT and developers can jointly build and deliver turnkey applications to users across the enterprise.
Managed Applications selected from the service catalog are pre-approved by IT to ensure compliance with organizational standards.
As a result, internal customers spend more time focusing on their business instead of worrying about managing applications and solutions.
It used to take us six months to a year to develop a new offering for a customer, but now that we do this work in Azure DevTest Labs, we can respond in a few weeks. - Gordon McKenna, Chief Technology Officer, Inframon.
Azure DevTest Labs
The Azure DevTest Labs service leverages Microsoft’s complete cloud resources to help developers quickly create on-demand environments and control costs. Apps teams can test the software versions by quickly provisioning Windows and Linux environments from established templates.
DevTest Labs provides the following benefits in managing developer and test environments in Azure:
Controlled self-service - DevTest Labs allows IT to set rules such as maximum VMs allocated or specific policies to automatically shut down and start VMs.
Rapid testing - DevTest Labs enables pre-provisioned environments to expedite the development and testing of applications. Containers can also be leveraged to further speed DevTest provisioning.
Create once, use everywhere – DevTest Labs provides the ability to capture and share templates and artifacts within the organization.
Toolchain integration – DevTest Labs provides API and plug-ins to provision DevTest environments from existing continuous integration tools, integrated development environments, or an automated release pipeline.
Azure Managed Applications enable MSPs, ISVs, and enterprise IT teams to deliver turnkey solutions through the Azure Marketplace or service catalog.
Trianz enables SOI and Service Catalogs
Trianz is a Microsoft Silver Partner and Azure Managed Services Provider within the Cloud Solution Provider Program.
Trianz helps business leaders leverage Azure to transform their products and operations, as well as engage customers and employees. Without the need for large upfront capital, Trianz’ designs cloud solutions, including Azure SOI and service catalogs, that enables innovation and agility.
With established templates and engagement tools, Trianz’ certified Azure consultants discover, assess, and analyze clients’ current state, and recommend execution plans for successful cloud migrations.
Using governance frameworks, Trianz designs Azure architectures and migration plans. It leads hybrid cloud deployments and develops test automation and app orchestration that cross on premise and cloud locations.
Additionally, Trianz experts monitor Azure performance and align existing cloud deployments to meet each business’ ongoing needs. Contact Trianz to take the next step and move to Microsoft Azure.
Trianz is Microsoft Silver Partner and Managed Services Provider for Azure. Offerings include:
- Azure Readiness Assessment & Migration Roadmap
- Azure DevTest and DevOps environments
- .NET, Windows & SharePoint application migrations
- SQL Server and non-Microsoft database migration
- Azure-native business applications, big data, and analytics
- Azure workload managed services
