BUYER'S GUIDE · CHECKED 23 AUGUST 2026
Azure Virtual Machines provide flexible Microsoft cloud infrastructure with a wide ecosystem of identity, network and management services. DC Core provides a more deliberately bounded managed environment in which the infrastructure and its day-to-day operating controls can be contracted together.
Scope: this guide compares DC Core managed cloud with a customer-operated Azure IaaS design centred on Azure Virtual Machines and Virtual Network, plus Azure Bastion, Azure Backup and Azure Support. It does not represent every Azure PaaS/SaaS service, Azure Expert MSP or separately negotiated Microsoft support arrangement.
SHORT ANSWER
Azure is a strong fit when teams need large-scale regional choice, Microsoft identity and licensing integration, multiple platform services, or infrastructure that an internal cloud team will automate and govern directly.
DC Core can define and operate the hosting, access, network, monitoring, patching and recovery controls around a workload, with the application's remaining responsibilities stated separately.[1]
DETAILED COMPARISON
Azure provides mature controls for private access, backup and governance. The procurement question is who configures and continuously operates them.
Swipe horizontally to compare all columns
| Area | DC Core managed cloud | Azure VM-centred design |
|---|---|---|
| Service model | Managed infrastructure with an agreed responsibility matrix around the selected workload.[1] | Azure Virtual Machines are IaaS. Microsoft's shared-responsibility guidance says the customer manages VMs, operating systems, applications and IaaS network controls; Microsoft manages the physical platform.[3] |
| Provisioning | Engineer-led discovery and design establish dependencies, residency, access, backup and operational ownership before migration or production handover.[1] | VMs can be provisioned in seconds through the Azure portal, APIs and automation, with customers choosing image, size, disks, Virtual Network and other services.[7] |
| Management responsibility | DC Core can manage infrastructure operation, hardening, monitoring, network controls and patching inside scope; the customer normally retains application, users and data.[1] | For Azure IaaS, the customer retains operating-system, application, identity, configuration, data and network-control responsibilities. Azure provides management and governance tools, but those still require configuration and ownership.[3] |
| Networking architecture | DC Core can connect workloads through private addressing, secured ingress and outbound customer-side agents using a tenant-aware relay architecture.[2] | Azure Virtual Network provides private networking for Azure resources and supports traffic filtering, routing, private service access, VPN and ExpressRoute connectivity. Buyers select and configure the controls required by their architecture.[9] |
| Private admin access | Customer-side agents normally establish outbound connections, reducing the need to publish inbound VM management ports.[2] | Azure Bastion provides RDP/SSH to target VMs over their private IP addresses, so those VMs do not need public IPs. Bastion Premium also supports a private-only Bastion deployment.[4] |
| Backups and DR | Encrypted backup and recovery controls are included where agreed. Frequency, retention and recovery targets are stated for the selected workload.[1] | Azure Backup supports scheduled VM protection, Recovery Services vaults and full-VM or file restoration. Buyers should confirm the applied policy, protected resources, retention, vault redundancy and restore-validation ownership.[5] |
| Location and scale | The standard design keeps managed production tenancy data in London and DR capacity in France unless another arrangement is agreed.[1] | Azure operates multiple geographies, each containing one or more regions and associated data-residency and compliance characteristics. The customer selects the region, availability design and service combination that meets its requirements.[10] |
| Support | Support applies to the contracted managed boundary and can include operational action inside that boundary. | Billing and subscription-management support is available to all Azure customers; technical support requires a support plan. Microsoft lists Developer, Standard, ProDirect and enterprise routes for different workload needs.[6] |
| Pricing model | A scoped quote combining infrastructure with agreed management, monitoring, backup and support responsibilities. | Usage-based component pricing across VM compute, managed disks, networking, backup and other services, with savings plans, reservations, Hybrid Benefit and Spot options where applicable.[7][8] |
| Best suited for | Organisations that want a UK-led operator to take defined responsibility for a bounded business workload. | Teams already invested in Microsoft technologies or needing the breadth, geographic reach and automation of the Azure platform. |
A fair caveat: Azure can keep target VMs private, automate backup and centralise management. Azure Bastion is a clear example. DC Core's distinction is not that Azure lacks these features; it is that DC Core can contract to design and operate a defined set of controls as one service.
BUYING DECISION
You need Azure-native identity, platform services, global regions, advanced automation or licensing advantages your internal team can manage.
You need a supplier to take responsibility for the agreed infrastructure layers rather than supplying a catalogue your team must assemble and run.
Subject to scope and access, DC Core may be able to add private connectivity or managed infrastructure oversight around an existing Azure environment.
Put a named supplier or internal role against every question. “The platform supports it” is not the same as somebody being responsible for doing it.
Who patches and reboots the guest OS, watches alerts and is authorised to make changes during an incident?
Who designs, reviews and maintains firewall policy, administrative access, identities and public exposure?
Which systems and data are protected, what are the agreed objectives, and who proves that a restore works?
Which migration, support, monitoring, backup, licensing, transfer and internal staffing costs sit outside the quote?
How to read the result: if your Microsoft cloud team is equipped to own all four areas, Azure may remain the stronger platform. If those duties are the gap you are trying to remove, compare them with a defined DC Core operating scope.
Map the responsibility boundary →COMMON QUESTIONS
A solution partner or managed engagement can materially change the Azure side of the comparison.
No. Azure Bastion can connect to VMs over private IP addresses. Microsoft also documents a Premium private-only Bastion deployment for environments where the Bastion resource itself must not use a public IP.
Under the standard IaaS shared-responsibility model, the customer manages the virtual machine, operating system and applications. Azure supplies tooling that can help, and partners can provide managed services, but buyers should identify who is contracted to perform the work.
Azure Backup provides the technology for policy-based VM protection and restoration. A complete DR position also needs correct scope, retention, dependencies, monitoring, testing and agreed RPO/RTO.
It depends on the architecture and operating model. Compare VM compute, disks, egress, public IPs, Bastion, backup, monitoring, security services, support and internal or partner labour—not only the VM rate.
Published by DC Core. Material Azure claims are based on Microsoft product pages and Microsoft Learn documentation.
Important: competitor information is based on publicly available documentation and may change. This page does not compare every Microsoft Azure product, partner-managed service or negotiated contract. Microsoft, Microsoft Azure and Azure product names are trade marks of their respective owners. Microsoft is not affiliated with DC Core and has not endorsed this comparison. Verify current features, pricing, availability and terms directly with Microsoft before purchasing.
COMPARE THE OPERATING MODEL
We will map the customer-owned work, identify where DC Core could fit and say plainly when Azure remains the stronger choice.