Azure Updates: Modernization with Migrate; Repackage apps as containers; Automation & database updates

Program manager Rahul Gupta shared ways to accelerate app modernization with Azure Migrate. Azure customers have a variety of hosting options for apps, ranging from IaaS to PaaS, containers as a service (CaaS), or serverless. Microsoft has oriented its App Service and Kubernetes Service offerings to support app developers. For instance, App Service supports infrastructure maintenance, scaling, and security patching, together with ways to run containerized Windows and Linux apps.

Customers are increasingly using containers as units of application deployment not only for distributed applications designed to use microservices architecture but also for other applications that they re-platform without significant alterations. Re-platforming is often the first step before embarking on further modernization of the application. Customers increasingly prefer to re-platform to containers in many cases where fully rearchitecting or refactoring an application may not be necessary or prudent.

The new App Containerization tool offers ways to repackage apps as containers, including ASP.NET apps and or Java web apps based on Apache Tomcat. Going forward, users can deploy containerized apps to App Service containers and AKS, manage secrets with Key Vault, or integrate app monitoring.

Among geographic updates, the Monitor IT Service Management Connector is certified for the ServiceNow Quebec version and Database-Flexible Server is on offer in the West US and Germany West Central regions, and Australia Central has added HDInsight.