Source: Freepik
It’s done!
After a successful pilot phase, Microsoft Azure went live at RWTH Aachen University at the beginning of 2025.
In the following article, you can find out which services are included in Microsoft Azure and which requirements you need to meet to use them.
What is Azure?
Microsoft Azure is a comprehensive cloud computing platform from Microsoft that is used by RWTH for “Infrastructure as a Service” (IaaS) and “Platform as a Service” (PaaS) services.
IaaS offers basic IT resources such as virtual machines, storage, networks and operating systems via the internet. Users can run their own software or applications on this infrastructure, for example, without having to buy or manage physical servers. PaaS also provides a complete development and runtime environment in the cloud. This allows developers to test, develop and manage their applications using various tools without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure.
Azure offers users the opportunity to book cloud services quickly and easily. Azure’s cloud services can be used, for example, to flexibly support projects or even design completely new test scenarios. As part of the procurement via a DFN framework agreement, RWTH has the opportunity to make Azure available to participating institutions at a discount.
What Services Are Offered by Azure?
Azure offers a variety of services in different areas. These are among others:
Infrastructure services such as
- computing, virtual machines and a wide range of development tools that enable rapid development, monitoring and deployment of applications,
- databases, such as Azure SQL Database, NoSQL databases,
- storage and virtual networks for flexible storage solutions and secure connection between different resources in the cloud and/or on-premises.
- AI applications: such as Azure OpenAI and Azure Cognitive Services
- Business intelligence and automation solutions: such as Power Virtual Agents
From Pilot Operation to Regular Operation
The pilot phase of Microsoft Azure started in September 2020 and went into accompanied regular operation in January 2025. Since then, Azure and its services have been available to all interested RWTH institutions.
Some valuable insights were gained during the pilot operation. The aim was to gain an overview of the demand for cloud solutions within RWTH, to establish an ordering and billing process and to gain general experience of using cloud solutions at a university – with success.
The admission process was introduced with the help of a checklist, allowing interested institutions to apply for access to Azure after specifying their own usage scenario. The ordering process is handled via the IT Center’s own portal “SeviRe”. Users can then order Azure services efficiently and bill the associated costs transparently. The billing data is automatically transmitted to the central purchasing department and the contractual partner via SeviRe.
How Can You Use Azure?
In general, all RWTH institutions have the opportunity to use Microsoft Azure as soon as the access process has been completed.
This involves first downloading and completing a checklist. Information on the access process and the checklist can be found on IT Center Help. Once the checklist has been successfully checked by the IT Center, participating institutions will receive a separate onboarding per project and a separate subscription at the end.
You can then log in to the Azure portal with “egal@azure.rwth-aachen.de” and Single Sign-On.
You can find more information about Microsoft Azure in our documentation on IT Center Help.
If you have any further questions about Microsoft Azure, please contact the IT-ServiceDesk.
We look forward to continuing this exciting journey together!
Responsible for the content of this article is Miriam Kohns.
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