Azure Virtual Machine

Azure Virtual Machines (Azure VMs) provide scalable, on-demand infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) for running Windows and Linux workloads, offering over 700 sizes across general-purpose (e.g., Dv5 with Intel Ice Lake up to 96 vCPUs), compute-optimized (Fsv2), memory-optimized (Esv5), storage-optimized (Lsv3), GPU-accelerated (NC-series with NVIDIA Tesla V100), and burstable (B-series) families to match diverse needs like web apps, databases, HPC, AI training, and SAP HANA. Deploy via Azure Portal, CLI, or ARM templates with features like auto-scaling, load balancing, availability sets/zones for 99.99% SLA, ephemeral OS disks, and integration with Azure Arc for hybrid management—supporting migrations from on-premises via Azure Migrate and compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and FedRAMP across 60+ regions.

In 2025, pricing is pay-as-you-go per minute of compute (e.g., Bs-series burstable VMs from $3.80/month, Dv5 at $0.096/vCPU-hour in US East), plus separate storage ($0.08/GB/month for Premium SSD), networking (free ingress, $0.087/GB egress), and optional Windows licensing—offset by Spot VMs (up to 90% off for interruptible workloads), Reservations (up to 72% savings for 1-3 years), Azure Hybrid Benefit (up to 80% with existing licenses), and Savings Plans for flexible commitments. Free tier includes 750 hours/month of B-series VMs for 12 months, with tools like Azure Cost Management and Advisor for optimization, helping enterprises reduce TCO by 30–50% while scaling elastically for dev/test or production environments.