What is an Azure Subscription?
- An Azure subscription is a way through which you pay for all the services that you consume on Microsoft Azure.
- Subscriptions allow individuals and organizations to access and use various resources and services provided by Microsoft Azure.
- It provides a way to manage and consume Azure resources, such as virtual machines, storage accounts, databases, and more.
- When you subscribe to Azure, you create an Azure account that acts as a container for all your Azure subscriptions and their resources.
- With an Azure subscription, you gain access to a wide range of Azure services and features provided by Azure, including infrastructure services, platform services, and software services.
What are the different types of Azure subscriptions?
Azure subscriptions are of the following types:
- Free trial
- Pay as you go
MSDN Subscriptions - Azure for Students
- Enterprise Agreement
- Cloud Solution Provider
- Government
- Azure Sponsorship
Types of Azure Subscriptions
Azure subscriptions are of the following types:
Free Trial
- This subscription is designed for users who want to explore Azure services and features for free.
- It provides a limited amount of Azure credits that can be used within a specific time frame (usually 30 days) and access to various free services.
Pay as you go
- This is a popular subscription model where users pay for Azure services based on their resource usage.
- Users are billed monthly for the services they consume. By the end of the month, they need to pay for the services they consume to keep the subscription going.
Visual Studio Subscriptions
- Formerly known as MSDN subscriptions, Visual Studio Subscriptions offer a range of benefits to developers, including monthly Azure credits, discounted rates on Azure services, and access to various software licenses and development tools.
Azure For Students
- This subscription is available to students to get familiar with Azure services.
- Students need to verify their student status.
- It provides free access to a range of Azure services, along with limited amounts of credits, to support learning and experimentation.
Enterprise Agreement
- Enterprise Agreements are suitable for large organizations with significant Azure usage. Their organizations use Azure services in bulk and sign an agreement with Microsoft.
- These agreements offer custom pricing, volume discounts, and other benefits based on the organization’s requirements.
- EAs provide a long-term commitment and often involve negotiations with Microsoft.
Cloud Solution Provider
- The CSP program allows partners to sell Azure services to their customers and provide managed services on top of Azure.
- CSP partners handle the billing and support for their customers and offer flexible pricing options.
Government
- Azure offers subscriptions tailored for government organizations and agencies, such as Azure Government, Azure Government Defense, and Azure Government Secret.
- These subscriptions comply with specific security and compliance standards required by government entities.
- Azure Sponsorship is typically used for sponsored events, hackathons, or programs where Azure credits are provided to participants for a limited duration or specific purpose.
