Public cloud adoption continues to accelerate, and Microsoft Azure has emerged as one of the most powerful and flexible platforms for enterprise hosting. For organizations running Sitecore as their digital experience platform, Azure provides scalable, reliable hosting models that can be adapted to different needs. This article introduces the two primary models, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and outlines their advantages, drawbacks, and considerations for B2B teams.
Azure provides Managed Services and DevOps teams with an environment that’s highly responsive, secure, and scalable. With global provisioning capabilities, organizations can quickly deploy properly sized Sitecore environments anywhere in the world. This means:
Simply put, Azure makes Sitecore hosting easier at scale, whether you need granular machine-level control or a fully managed app-based experience.
IaaS is best suited when specific machine, compliance, or security configurations are required. Sitecore IaaS hosting leverages Virtual Machines (VMs) that can be sized and allocated based on cost, geography, workload, or traffic needs.
Scaling options include Availability Sets for redundancy and dynamic resizing for performance. IaaS offers maximum flexibility—but at a higher cost.
PaaS leverages Azure App Services for hosting, and is especially effective for newer Sitecore versions that are designed for Service-Oriented Architectures. PaaS dynamically scales resources based on consumption, often leading to cost savings.
This model provides greater flexibility and responsiveness at scale but sacrifices direct control of the underlying machines. Instead, teams manage the application through configuration and deployment practices.
The choice between IaaS and PaaS depends on your Sitecore version, compliance requirements, and need for customization. IaaS offers more control and compatibility with older versions. PaaS offers greater efficiency, scalability, and cost savings for teams running newer Sitecore builds.
For more technical details, see the official Sitecore documentation on Azure hosting.
Hosting Sitecore in Azure is no longer an experiment—it’s a best practice for organizations that want to combine enterprise-level digital experiences with cloud scalability. Whether you choose IaaS or PaaS, Azure ensures that infrastructure is never a barrier to delivering Sitecore at scale.
Need help evaluating the right model for your Sitecore environment? Let’s talk.