Taking the first steps into the world of cloud computing can feel overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be. In this article, I’ll walk you through the basics of getting started with Microsoft Azure, explain some core concepts, and help you set up your first Azure account. Whether you’re a developer, IT professional, or a business leader looking to explore new digital horizons, this guide is your friendly introduction to one of the most powerful cloud platforms on the market.

At Burzcast, we’ve helped organizations in industries ranging from aerospace to healthcare adopt Azure successfully. Now, I’m excited to help you do the same.

What is Azure, in Practice?

Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing platform—a vast, evolving collection of cloud services that help you build, run, and manage applications across a global network of data centers. Whether you're developing a mobile app, storing massive datasets, analyzing real-time telemetry, or deploying AI-powered models, Azure has the tools to help you do it all.

It’s flexible, scalable, secure, and accessible no matter the size of your business or project.

Setting Up Your First Azure Account

Getting started with Azure is straightforward. Here’s how I usually guide our clients through their first steps:

1. Go to azure.microsoft.com and click on Start free.
2. Sign in or create a Microsoft account.
3. Fill in your personal or business info, including a valid phone number and credit card (used for identity verification—no charges unless you upgrade).
4. Access the Azure Portal—this is your control center for managing services, resources, and settings.

Microsoft provides a generous free tier including 12 months of popular services, 25+ services always free, and a $200 credit for your first 30 days.

Pro Tip: If you have a Visual Studio subscription, you might already have monthly Azure credits included. This is great for experimenting, testing, or even deploying lightweight apps and services.

Core Azure Concepts and Terminology

Before diving in, it helps to understand a few key Azure concepts. Here are some of the terms I explain most often:

1. Resource: Anything you create in Azure, like a virtual machine (VM), database, or storage account.
2. Resource Group: A container that holds related resources. Great for managing permissions, billing, and organization.
3. Subscription: A billing entity associated with your Azure account. You can have multiple subscriptions for different projects or clients.
4. Region: A physical location where Azure data centers are located (e.g., West Europe, East US). Choose regions close to your users for better performance.
5. Virtual Machine (VM): An emulated computer that runs in Azure’s cloud, and is useful for hosting websites, applications, or development environments.
6. Azure Portal: The web-based dashboard for managing all your Azure services.
7. ARM (Azure Resource Manager): The deployment and management framework used to organize resources.

Understanding these basics will help you make informed decisions as you start exploring the possibilities of Azure.

Why Azure is Ideal for Modern Businesses

At Burzcast, we partner with clients that demand not just cloud adoption—but transformation. Azure supports this by offering:

Scalable and Secure Infrastructure

Whether you're a startup with a single app or a global enterprise operating across time zones, Azure can scale to meet your performance and capacity needs. From auto-scaling web apps to globally distributed databases and content delivery networks, Azure adapts in real-time. And because it's Microsoft, the built-in security—from data encryption to DDoS protection—is enterprise-grade by default.

AI and Machine Learning Services Ready to Use

Azure doesn’t just support AI—it makes it easy. From Azure OpenAI Service to Cognitive Services and Azure Machine Learning, you can add intelligence to apps, analyze vast data sets, or build your models. At Burzcast, we use these services in several projects—including Cluj Plus, a civic platform powered by Azure AI Foundry that’s already delivering impact in the region.

Built-in Compliance and Regulatory Certifications

Azure is trusted by governments and enterprises for good reason. It meets international and industry-specific compliance standards such as ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, FedRAMP, and many more. This saves you a tremendous amount of time when building secure, compliant solutions—something I often emphasize to our clients in highly regulated industries.

Hybrid Capabilities That Extend On-Prem Systems to the Cloud

Azure Hybrid is one of the platform’s superpowers. It enables seamless integration between your on-premises infrastructure and the cloud, using tools like Azure Arc, Azure Stack, and VPN Gateways. This is particularly helpful for industries with legacy systems that need to modernize without disrupting their entire IT backbone.

Enterprise-Grade Security and Identity Management

Azure Active Directory, Conditional Access, identity protection, role-based access control (RBAC)—these aren’t just acronyms, they’re serious tools. Azure gives businesses granular control over access and policies, ensuring that only the right people access the right resources, all while logging and monitoring everything for visibility and compliance.

At Burzcast, all of our public websites run entirely on Azure—including burzcast.com, media.burzcast.com, cluj.plus, and rburz.com. We also develop and maintain a suite of complex, cloud-native web applications for our clients that run on Azure—but I can’t share those here due to, let’s say... a mix of NDAs, trade secrets, and a dash of “if I told you, I’d have to deploy an AI to redact it.” 😉

Final Thoughts

Getting started with Azure opens a world of potential. Whether you’re experimenting with your first app, setting up cloud storage, or preparing your business for a global-scale rollout, Azure provides the tools to make it happen.

I’ve helped businesses across multiple sectors take that first step—and I’m confident you can, too. Stay tuned for next week’s post, where I’ll walk through deploying your first Azure service and monitoring it in real time.