In this post, I want to share my review of another Azure book I read recently, Azure for Decision Makers this time from Jack Lee, Jason Milgram and David Rendon published by Packt Publishing and available on Amazon as well as other e-book subscription platforms.

About the book

Azure for Decision Makers provides a comprehensive overview of the latest updates in cloud security, hybrid cloud and multi-cloud solutions, and cloud migration in Azure. This book is a must-have introduction to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, demonstrating the substantial scope of digital transformation and innovation that can be achieved with Azure’s capabilities.

The first set of chapters will get you up to speed with Microsoft Azure’s evolution before showing you how to integrate it into your existing IT infrastructure. Next, you’ll gain practical insights into application migration and modernization, focusing mainly on migration planning, implementation, and best practices. Throughout the book, you’ll get the information you need to spearhead a smooth migration and modernization process, detailing Azure infrastructure as a service (IaaS) deployment, infrastructure management, and key application architectures.

The concluding chapters will help you to identify and incorporate best practices for cost optimization and management, Azure DevOps, and Azure automation. By the end of this book, you’ll have learned how to lead end-to-end Azure operations for your organization and effectively cost-optimize your processes ─ from the planning and cloud migration stage through to troubleshooting.

Chapter Overview

The book is light to read, and well-structured in 6 different chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction, covers the reasons an organization might engage with cloud computing, and why Microsoft Azure in particular is a compelling choice. It goes on to discuss the various types of cloud environments and crucial security and governance considerations when migrating to the cloud.

Chapter 2, Modernizing with Hybrid, Multicloud, and Edge Computing, covers how these modernizing approaches can drive significant efficiency, agility, and innovation improvements for any organization. It also covers the set of tools Microsoft Azure provides for a modern, flexible, and secure infrastructure transition.

Chapter 3, Migration and Modernization, describes how the benefits of the cloud can help businesses stay ahead of the curve and drive innovation in their industry, as well as how an organization can accelerate its cloud adoption journey.

Chapter 4, Maximizing Azure Security Benefits for Your Organization, covers best practices for securing workloads on Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Sentinel as a tool for intelligent security analytics, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Identity, Endpoint, and Cloud Apps, each of which can help identify suspicious activity and prevent advanced attacks.

Chapter 5, Automation and Governance in Azure, explains the importance of automation and governance, discussing the two native Microsoft Infrastructure as Code (IaC) frameworks: Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates and Bicep. Governance is a critical aspect of managing resources on Azure, and the tools and services available to facilitate this are also covered.

Chapter 6, Maximizing Efficiency and Cost Savings in Azure, discusses the impact of cost optimization in the cloud, and its place as one of the five pillars of the Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework. It goes on to explain the different ways that Azure Advisor can help organizations optimize Azure resources based on usage patterns, as part of a comprehensive cost optimization strategy.

Summary

Azure for Decision Makers covers why and how an organization can achieve a successful migration to the cloud. This book discusses different kinds of cloud solutions and describes how to make the best decisions when modernizing your organization by migrating to the cloud. Azure for Decision Makers ensures that you can make the most of the cost optimization, efficiency, automation, and security that a cloud solution with Microsoft Azure provides.

Cheers!!

/Peter