What are its defining features?

• global reach – it runs in data centres across 22 regions with a rapidly-growing global offering, ensuring amazing application performance everywhere
• open and flexible – a huge range of programming languages & tools. From .Net to Node.Js on Windows or Linux
• pay as you go – Azure’s services can quickly scale up or down to match demand, meaning you only pay for what you use and you always have the ability to meet demand
• secure – industry-leading commitment to the protection and privacy of your data. Certified under international cloud privacy standard, ISO 27018
• heavily automatable – meaning routine tasks are set up once, and done consistently and cost effectively
• trusted globally – Leader across Gartner’s Magic Quadrants for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service, Application Platform as a Service and Cloud Storage Services for the second consecutive year. Used by 66% of Fortune 500 companies