{"id":7687,"date":"2022-07-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-right-azure-services-for-your-applications-it-s-not-a-or-b"},"modified":"2025-06-13T03:26:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T10:26:15","slug":"how-to-choose-the-right-azure-services-for-your-applications-it-s-not-a-or-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-right-azure-services-for-your-applications-it-s-not-a-or-b\/","title":{"rendered":"How to choose the right Azure services for your applications\u2014It\u2019s not A or B"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post was co-authored by Ajai Peddapanga, Principal Cloud Solution Architect.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have been working with Azure for any period, you might have grappled with the question\u2014which Azure service is best to run my apps on<\/a>? This is an important decision because the services you choose will dictate your resource planning, budget, timelines, and, ultimately, the time to market for your business. It impacts the cost of not only the initial delivery, but also the ongoing maintenance of your applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, organizations have thought that they must choose between two platforms, technologies, or competing solutions to build and run their software applications. For example, they ask questions like: Do we use Web Logic or WebSphere for hosting our Java Enterprise applications?, Should Docker Swarm be the enterprise-wide container platform or Kubernetes?, or Do we adopt containers or just stick with virtual machines (VMs)?<\/em> They try to fit all their applications on platform A or B. This A or B mindset stems from outdated practices that were based on the constraints of the on-premises world, such as packaged software delivery models, significant upfront investments in infrastructure and software licensing, and long lead times required to build and deploy any application platform. With that history, it\u2019s easy to bring the same mindset to Azure and spend a lot of time building a single platform based on a single Azure service that can host as many of their applications as possible\u2014if not all. Then companies try to force-fit all their applications into this single platform, introducing delays and roadblocks that could have been avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s a better approach possible in Azure that yields higher returns on investment (ROI). As you transition to Azure, where you provision and deprovision resources on an as-needed basis, you don’t have to choose between A or B. Azure makes it easy and cost-effective to take a different\u2014and better\u2014approach: the A+B approach. An A+B mindset simply means instead of limiting yourself to a predetermined service, you choose the service(s) that best meet your application needs; you choose the right tool for the right job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Figure<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Figure 1:<\/strong> Azure enables you to shift your thinking from an A or B to an A+B mindset, which has many benefits.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With A+B thinking, you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n