What is
Azure Local?

What is Azure Local?

Microsoft describes Azure Local as “a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution that hosts Windows and Linux VM or containerized workloads and their storage. It’s a hybrid product that connects the on-premises system to Azure for Cloud-based services, monitoring, and management”.

Azure Local extends Azure into an on-premises environment, with or without Azure SDN, and is fully managed via the Azure Portal by leveraging Azure Arc. This can be used to create private Clouds, virtualise workloads, and run Cloud-native applications and selected Azure PaaS services on-premises.

Exponential-e’s solution is built on Dell’s APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure, which deep integration with the Microsoft Azure CI/CD platform to ensure dependability and the rapid availability of platform patches, and includes software-driven automation, life-cycle management, attractive licensing options, and full-solution enterprise-level support and service expertise.

Systems retain local administrative capability via the Windows Admin Centre, if required, and can be managed with Azure management and governance services and Azure Arc-enabled infrastructure solutions. This enables management ‘at scale’, using Azure Resource Manager, and provides access to services such as Azure Monitor, Defender, and Policy.

Our solution can be deployed on-premises, at the edge (including ruggedised options), or in a data centre, and being Azure Arc-enabled, provides a DevOps-centric platform that delivers predictable performance for virtual machines, containerised applications, and Azure data, app, and machine-learning services.

Azure Local Use Cases

Use-Case	Locations	Example
Provide cost-effective Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) deployments at scale	Data centre	VDI platforms for Healthcare, Public Sector, Defence, and Legal organisations. Privileged access workstations.
Provide Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), enabled by Azure Arc	Edge	Provide central orchestration of AKS application deployed across multiple edge locations, e.g. retail environments.
Run Azure Arc services on-premises and at the edge	Data centre On-premises Edge	Enterprise workloads where compliance or connectivity constraints demands dedicated hosting whilst retain and Cloud-native operating model. IoT solutions requiring near real-time response.
Deploy high-performance SQL Server	Data centre Edge	Enterprise database workloads (both VM and PaaS based) where compliance or connectivity constraints demand dedicated hosting, including those leveraging Confidential Compute, or where performance requirements favour dedicated hosting.
Provide trusted enterprise virtualisation for containers and virtual machines	Data centre On-premises Edge	Enterprise workloads where compliance or connectivity constraints demands dedicated hosting including those leveraging confidential compute.
Provide scale-out file and block storage (with block storage capabilities running to millions of IOPs)	Data centre On-premises Edge	Enterprise workloads where compliance or connectivity constraints demands dedicated hosting.
Provide always-on hosting and Disaster Recovery for virtualised workloads, with stretched cluster options	Edge	Perishable goods handling. Time-sensitive operations. Harsh environments.
Facilitate datacentre consolidation and modernisation and eliminate third-party virtualisation costs	Data centre On-premises	Landing zone for virtual machines that cannot exist with SDN environments, such as call recorders, PBX etc.

Which cloud strategy best describes your organisation's approach?

Cloud-first
Hybrid cloud
Primarily on-premises
Still evaluating options
Other