Heroku vs Azure

Microsoft’s cloud computing platform Azure has consistently competed against the offerings from Amazon (AWS) and Google (Google Cloud Platform) to remain one of the most popular platforms for deploying and managing server apps.

The solutions include a full cloud environment for app development and deployment, and Azure handles the server and storage provisioning on the users’ behalf so that they can focus on improving the code. Today, we pit it against Heroku, one of the oldest container-based app development platforms.

If you are looking to select between the two, continue reading as we discuss the features and advantages, so that you can make an informed choice.

Key Takeaways

• Azure is a multi-purpose cloud service and Heroku a PaaS

• Heroku is a managed service and Azure has managed and non-managed services

• Azure is from Microsoft and Heroku is from Salesforce

• Azure has datacenters worldwide and Heroku works on USA or Europe regions

What is Heroku?

As stated earlier, Heroku is one of the oldest container-based PaaS implementations that facilitates the testing and deployment of dynamic and scalable cloud-based server apps. To know more about container platforms, please read the article Heroku vs Docker.

Being a fully managed service, Heroku provides you with all the tools and services necessary to test and deploy the app and then manages the architecture in the background on your behalf.

Originally built for use with Ruby, Heroku now supports multiple development languages, like C#, Python, PHP, Java, Node.js, etc. It deploys your apps over isolated containers called dynos, and the resources are scaled automatically to match the incoming traffic. It is also very well documented with a loyal enthusiast community providing constant help if you run into troubles during development. 

Heroku Core Features 

• Added functionality to the applications

Heroku allows developers to expand the functionality of the apps with the help of APIs and add-ons like Apache Kafka, Postgres SQL, and Redis. You can also customize the app using official buildpacks, which are build automation scripts, which introduced additional functionalities like notifications, storage, etc.

• Server security

Heroku takes special care of ensuring that the app data stored on Heroku servers are encrypted. For additional security, the entire platform is subjected to routine security audits to ensure compliance under ISO, HIPAA, SOC, and PCI, among others.

• Heroku Operational Experience (OpEx)

OpEx is Heroku’s monitoring system that notifies the testers and developers whenever something goes wrong with the platform. You get access to threshold alerting and view the crucial app metrics, allowing you to address any negative trends immediately.

Heroku Advantages 

• Developer-friendliness

The advanced functionality of Heroku is expertly hidden behind a neat and intuitive user interface. Developers can push their apps using official Heroku buildpacks and deploy them for the users with a single click. The version control system allows you to install updates directly to each app environment instantly.

• Container-based scalability

Dynos are isolated Heroku containers that contain a complete copy of the code along with its dependencies. Heroku handles scalability by adding more dynos to the app stack when it detects a spike in the incoming traffic volume.

• Git-support

Heroku users can deploy their code using Git, the software version control system that tracks changes to the database code over time, and GitHub, the hosting platform for Git repositories. Else, you can write your own code in any popular language and deploy it directly using Heroku buildpacks.

What is Azure? 

The Azure public cloud service allows developers to build, test, and deploy their applications and services through Microsoft-managed data centers.

Solutions on offer include a robust Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) that automatically provisions and scales compute and storage resources along with Platform as a Service (PaaS) features for Linux and Windows.

While Azure is an incredibly popular choice for Microsoft stack developers, it also extends extensive support for Linux, where you can build and deploy your Docker images. Azure also offers integration with Visual Studio and supports multiple languages for hassle-free app development.

Azure Core Features

• Operation Management Suite (OMS)

Microsoft OMS provides developers with better visibility and deeper insights into their hybrid app environment in a minimalistic single-pane view, which also displays valuable information from built-in log analytics solutions.

• DDOS protection

Azure also comes with built-in Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) protection, which activates when it detects a DDOS attack on the platform. Moreover, the storage services come with customizable server-side encryption that is built into multiple layers for advanced security.

• Capacity management

StorSimple, Azure’s hybrid storage architecture, addresses enterprise-level storage requirements like data tiering, archiving, compression, data recovery, etc. Frequently recalled data is loaded on faster SSDs, while the less frequently accessed data is stored and tiered on HDDs.

Azure Advantages 

• Active Directory integration

In order to boost your app’s identity and access capabilities, Azure directly integrates with your Active Directory, which improves the DNS security and global reach, unlocking centralized access for on-premises apps like Office 365. Active Directory Integration also enables two-factor authentication, making signing in easier for the users.

• Data resiliency and recovery

The hybrid storage function of Azure Cloud makes it a delight for data resiliency and recovery as it can easily integrate with your preferred BCDR strategy.

Cloud storage services are innately flexible, and Azure takes it a notch further by backing up your data on any OS in any preferred language at your defined frequency and extent. If your VM is hosted entirely on the cloud, the VM level backup can be used to restore the machine.

• IoT industry solutions

Azure’s flexibility and scalability also make it a viable tool for developing and testing IoT solutions, where the apps can connect to the devices on the network and collect new and valuable customer data.

With information-rich data points, not only can developers improve the life of their customers, but also make smarter business decisions on the direction of the company.

Conclusion

This article compared Microsoft Azure and Salesforce Heroku.

Azure is a multi-purpose cloud provide and includes IaaS, PaaS, BaaS implementations. It has datacenters spread out across the entire world and customers like Bosh, Swiss Re, and PepsiCo.

Heroku is a PaaS from Salesforce. Users can deploy app in the USA or Europe regions and has customers like LendUp, Kaja

The final decision between the two platforms rests on your requirements, so if you cannot finalize between the two, contact a leading app hosting company for deeper insights into the topic.

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