This team of authors do an excellent job of explaining Microsoft Azure and its many components and features. IT managers, IT architects, project managers, business analysts, and systems administrators can all benefit from the content included in this book. You will enjoy the book’s logical flow and layout: it starts at a high level, helping you to understand the landscape, concepts, nomenclature, and moving parts of Azure, and then drills down into the ever-changing core services and features.

This book is like your own personal tour guide to Azure. Build and experiment with your own free Azure subscription as you follow along step by step, experimenting with the services as they are described to you in detail. This book consolidates information that would take you months to pull together and digest from disparate blogs and web sites and will accelerate your learning and help you to avoid pitfalls and blockers that might otherwise slow you down.

As a 10-year Microsoft Valued Professional (MVP) and CEO of a highly decorated Microsoft partner specializing in Azure, I can tell you that this book is a must-read for people involved in the transformation of their IT infrastructures. Knowledge is critical to making educated decisions, and the content in this book will provide you with an Ivy League education in Azure.

One of the other key differentiators in this book is its inclusion of government challenges, compliance requirements, and Azure-specific solutions. Those involved in governmental decision making or influence positions will find the information in this book particularly beneficial.

Open your mind as you pick up this book: it will help you understand multiple Azure features, scenarios, and services. It covers everything from Azure web applications to networking, VMs running in IaaS, Azure identity management, high availability, disaster recovery, migration options, and monitoring and reporting. This book is jam-packed with everything you need to know about Azure. Have fun on your journey!

—Rory McCaw, CEO, Infront Consulting Group, September 2015