Azure Maps is Microsoft’s geospatial Platform-As-A-Service. It is a set of APIs and SDKs, and end-user apps. This slide covers the basics of what it covers:
However, this overview doesn’t quite capture the implications of having these geospatial capabilities in Azure. Let’s discuss them here.
One of the first things to realize about Azure Maps is just the idea that these capabilities are built into Azure. Azure Maps is a first party service like the other 200+ services in Azure. As such, it can be used in many ways with many other services. You can use it for IoT, Digital Twins, data processing, dashboards, geocoding, indoor mapping, as part of a function app, logic app, eventing system, machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc. In fact, Azure Maps integrates with some of the other Azure services without you having to do very much.
Another way to think about this is that in the past an organization would need to go out and purchase “best in breed” of different technologies and then spend a lot of time and money having to integrate them together. This made sense for many years and is still a viable option in many cases. However, the cloud and Azure Maps are changing the equation. If you combine Azure Maps with Azure IoT, Azure Digital Twins, Azure Stream Analytics, and other Azure services, then you in effect have a multiplicative effect with these services that can in many cases cancel out the need to build and integrate different technologies. The cost and time to integrate are radically different because in some cases there’s nothing to integrate or the integration is just a few clicks away.
Another key component of this is the scale and reliability you get out of a PaaS. With Azure Maps, it literally takes 5 minutes to create an Azure Maps account and you are up and running. Compare that to how long it takes to implement a traditional GIS whether on-premises or even in Azure. It’s hard to compare minutes to weeks or even months in the traditional paradigm. Also, because Azure Maps is a PaaS it comes with a Service Level Agreement of 99.9% so you can rest assured that it’s up and running. Likewise, because Azure Maps is a global service (non-regional), it is available in most Azure regions once you create your account. In five minutes, you have a global GIS. That is amazing! You also don’t have to upgrade anything either. When new features arrive, you just get them as part of your account. There’s nothing to upgrade in a traditional sense.
Another aspect to consider is the cost. The cloud has changed the whole cost dynamic for IT and that is no different with Azure Maps. First, there is no upfront cost. You don’t need to download anything and you certainly don’t need to open a box. There also aren’t any maintenance fees, or termination fees. You only pay for what you use. That’s it. If you don’t consume anything, you don’t pay anything. Most importantly though is that if you only use one API such as the routing API, that’s all you pay for. You won’t get charged for everything else. Another way to think about this is that GIS has gone from being a capital expenditure to an operational expenditure.
Even more important than that, is the fact of economies of scale reduces how much you have to pay for compute and storage which is built into the PaaS. That means that using an Azure Maps API is significantly cheaper than the traditional GIS. Instead of having to pay for servers or even VMs to perform some geospatial operation, you don’t have them. That has been abstracted away. The cost per API call is much less because the cloud infrastructure and storage are so much cheaper due to economies of scale.
Another key component of this is that Azure Maps is secure. Azure Maps must adhere to the same compliance as any other Azure service. As noted on the Azure Maps website, “Microsoft employs more than 3,500 security experts who are completely focused on securing your game data and privacy.” That includes Azure Maps. Likewise, Azure Maps respects privacy and is GDPR compliant without you having to do anything. Azure Maps can also take advantage of Azure Active Directory, Azure Security Center, Azure Lighthouse, and many other services.
And now for System Integrators and Independent Software Vendors, consider this: Because Azure Maps is a PaaS, that means you can build a SaaS on top it. You can build a general-purpose mapping SaaS so your customers can build maps, perform analysis, integrate with your products, etc. You can also use the APIs to integrate into your apps and place them in the Azure marketplace so your customers can take advantage of them. You can even automate the process of creating an Azure Maps account. Better yet, you can become a Cloud Solution Provider along with Azure Lighthouse and deploy your app in Azure using an Azure App Service and manage customer resources with Azure Lighthouse.
Lastly, at the beginning of this entry, I showed the high-level capabilities. This is just the beginning of Azure Maps. As more services are brought online you will be able to opt in and take advantages of those services and all of the other sister services in Azure to build nearly anything and once again you won’t have to upgrade, the security will be built in along with privacy, and many, many other benefits. There is much more to consider so check out the Azure Maps site which points you to the documentation where you can learn more: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/azure-maps/