Updated October 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team
Azure app development services are the design, build, testing and handover of business applications that run on Microsoft Azure, from web apps and APIs on App Service to event-driven functions, containerized services and the data, identity and integration around them. They suit CTOs, heads of engineering and product owners at Microsoft-stack companies that want a new application, an older one modernized, or an independent Azure consulting review before they commit. Progression Agency is based in New York City and works with clients across the United States and worldwide.
On this page · 16 sections
- What are Azure app development services?
- Microsoft Azure application development: what we build and where each part runs
- Azure cloud application development: the reference architecture in words
- Why use Azure App Service, and how does it work?
- Microsoft Azure consulting services: architecture, cost and readiness reviews
- When to build apps on Azure, and when another cloud fits better
- Azure application modernization: rehost, replatform, refactor or rebuild
- Azure development services from commit to production
- Azure app security features we switch on from day one
- Reliability and cost control, as everyday practice
- Azure software development process: from discovery to handover
- How much do Azure app development services cost?
- Hire Azure developers: project, dedicated team or advisory
- How to choose an Azure development company
- How buyers ask AI assistants for an Azure development partner
- Related software and cloud services
The short answerWe pick the smallest set of Azure services that fits the workload, define each resource as code, and ship through an automated pipeline into a subscription your organization owns. Progress is measured in working releases, failed-deployment rate, response times and the monthly Azure bill against its budget. A focused first release usually takes two to four months, and every build or consulting engagement is quoted after a written scope.
Azure service descriptions come from Microsoft Learn as read in October 2026. Price figures are published US price bands, not a Progression rate card; every build and consulting engagement is quoted after a written scope.
What are Azure app development services?
They are engineering services that turn a business need into a running application on Microsoft’s cloud, with the hosting, database, sign-in, messaging and monitoring chosen and configured for it. You receive working software and everything needed to run it, not a slide deck.
What is Azure development, in plain terms?
It is writing software that uses Azure’s managed services instead of servers you rack and patch yourself. A developer still writes the business logic; Azure supplies the runtime, the database engine, the queue and the identity platform underneath, and charges for what the application consumes.
What does an Azure cloud developer actually do all week?
Writes and reviews application code, defines infrastructure in templates, wires services together with the least access each needs, sets up pipelines and environments, reads logs and metrics when something slows down, and keeps an eye on cost. On our projects the same engineer who writes a feature also owns its deployment and its alerts.
Is Azure a development tool or a hosting platform?
Both, in a sense. Azure is a cloud platform: a catalog of compute, data, networking and identity services. The development tools sit around it, such as Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, the Azure CLI and SDKs for each language, and they deploy into Azure rather than being Azure.
Where this page sits next to our other cloud pages
Our cloud app development services page compares building on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud in general. This page is for teams that have already settled on Microsoft’s cloud and want an Azure development company to design, build or review the application itself.
Microsoft Azure application development: what we build and where each part runs
Most Azure applications are one of six shapes, and each shape has a natural home among Azure’s services. Naming the shape early keeps the architecture small and the bill predictable.
| Build type | Azure services we use | Fits when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web app or API | App Service, Azure SQL, Entra ID | A conventional business application, portal or API, especially in .NET | Apps in one plan share its compute and scale together |
| Event-driven and scheduled work | Azure Functions, Service Bus, Event Grid | Jobs triggered by a file, a message, a timer or a webhook | Long-running work belongs in a container or a queue worker |
| Containerized services | Azure Container Apps, AKS | Several services in different languages, or an existing Docker estate | Kubernetes adds upgrades and capacity work your team must own |
| Data-heavy application | Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Reporting, transactions or high-volume reads | Pick relational unless the access pattern is simple and known |
| Integration hub | Service Bus, Event Grid, Functions | ERP, CRM, Microsoft 365 or partner systems must exchange data | Duplicate and out-of-order messages must be handled in code |
| .NET modernization | App Service, Azure SQL, Key Vault | A .NET Framework or on-premises app needs a supported home | Hidden dependencies on the old server, such as file shares or COM |
Web apps and APIs: Azure App Service development
For most business applications, Azure app service development is the starting point: you deploy code or a container, and Microsoft runs the operating system, patching and load balancing. Microsoft describes App Service as a platform for web applications, mobile back ends and RESTful APIs that supports .NET, Java, Node.js, Python and PHP on Windows or Linux. We use it for portals, internal tools and APIs whose traffic is steady enough to justify an always-on plan.
Event-driven and background work
Anything a user should not wait for, such as generating a PDF, syncing an order to an ERP or resizing an image, moves into a function or a queue consumer. The API puts a message on a Service Bus queue and returns at once; the worker picks it up, retries on failure and records the outcome where support staff can see it.
Containers, when they earn their keep
We reach for Container Apps when a product has several services, mixed languages or an existing container pipeline, and for AKS only when a client has a platform team ready to run Kubernetes. Cluster upgrades, add-ons and node sizing are real work, and our DevOps services page sets out what that ongoing work involves.
Azure integration services and connecting the rest of the business
Azure Integration Services is Microsoft’s name for its integration products. Azure Logic Apps, for example, is described as a service for automating business process workflows and integrating systems with prebuilt connectors and little or no code. We build integrations in code with Service Bus, Event Grid and Functions, and we recommend Logic Apps where a designer-built workflow your own staff can maintain is the better fit.
Azure cloud application development: the reference architecture in words
A sound Azure application separates the parts that change at different speeds: the client, the API, background jobs, data, identity, messaging and monitoring. Each layer can then be scaled, secured and replaced without touching the others.
Networking and environments
Production, staging and development live in separate subscriptions or at least separate resource containers, with their own secrets and access rules. App Service can reach private resources through virtual network integration, so databases and queues need not be open to the internet at all.
Azure microservices development, and when not to do it
Splitting an application into many small services multiplies pipelines, dashboards and failure modes. We start most products as one well-structured service with clear internal modules, and split out a piece only when it needs to scale, deploy or fail on its own schedule.
Azure application architecture decisions we write down
Every project keeps a short decision log: why App Service rather than containers, why Azure SQL rather than Cosmos DB, which region and why, how backups and recovery work. The log travels with the code, so the next engineer understands the reasons and not only the result.
Why use Azure App Service, and how does it work?
Use it when you want to run a web application or API without managing virtual machines yourself. You create an App Service plan, which is a set of compute in one region, and deploy one or more apps onto it.
| Category | Tiers | How it runs | What it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared compute | Free, Shared | Apps share a VM with other customers’ apps and receive CPU minutes; no scale out | Trials, demos and learning |
| Dedicated compute | Basic, Standard, Premium (V2, V3, V4) | Dedicated VMs for your plan; every app in the plan shares them | Production business applications |
| Isolated | IsolatedV2 | Dedicated VMs on a dedicated virtual network | Strict network isolation requirements |
What is Azure App Service used for?
Line-of-business web apps, customer portals, REST APIs for mobile and web clients, and the back ends of SaaS products. It also hosts containers, which helps teams that already package their software as images but do not want a cluster.
Are Azure App Services PaaS or serverless?
App Service is platform as a service: Microsoft manages the infrastructure, you manage the app. It is not serverless in the pay-per-request sense, because in the dedicated tiers each VM instance in the plan is charged whether or not requests arrive. For scale-to-zero work we use functions or serverless containers instead.
Is there a free tier, and what does App Service cost?
There is a Free tier, and Microsoft notes you can start testing an app in it and pay nothing, then scale up when you need a custom domain or more capacity. Paid tiers bill per VM instance or, in the Shared tier, per app’s CPU quota. Prices vary by region and change, so we price from Microsoft’s calculator at scoping time; hosting setup is covered on our guide to hosting a website on Azure.
Deployment slots for releases without downtime
In the Standard, Premium and Isolated tiers, an app can have deployment slots: live copies with their own host names. We deploy to a staging slot, warm it up, check it, then swap it into production; if something is wrong, swapping back restores the last good version. Microsoft charges nothing extra for slots, and the Standard tier allows five.
Microsoft Azure consulting services: architecture, cost and readiness reviews
Not every team needs a build. Our Azure consulting covers an outside read of an existing estate or a planned one, ending in a written, prioritized list of changes with the effort behind each.
| Engagement | What we look at | What you receive | Typical length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture review | Services chosen, networking, identity, data, failure points | Findings by Well-Architected pillar with fixes ranked | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Cost review | Plans, databases, idle environments, reservations, budgets | Savings list with the effort each change takes | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Migration assessment | Applications, dependencies, data volumes, downtime tolerance | A strategy per workload and a sequence of moves | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Security and identity review | Roles, secrets, public endpoints, logging | Gaps against least privilege with remediation steps | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Pre-build architecture | Requirements, users, integrations, budget | Architecture, subscription layout and a written build scope | 3 to 8 weeks |
Azure well architected review
Microsoft’s Well-Architected Framework rests on five pillars: reliability, security, cost optimization, operational excellence and performance efficiency. Microsoft also publishes a free assessment tool for self-review. Our review uses the same pillars but goes past the questionnaire into the actual subscription, templates and pipelines.
Azure cloud consulting for teams already running on Azure
The most common request is not a new build but a second opinion: why the app slows at month end, why the bill doubled, whether the subscription layout will survive a second product. We answer those with evidence from logs, metrics and cost exports.
Azure consulting services before a migration
A migration assessment inventories what you run, maps which systems talk to each other, and proposes a strategy per workload. Microsoft’s migration guidance stresses that dependencies must be found before workloads are moved, because components that talk constantly should move together.
Azure consulting company or an in-house architect?
An in-house architect knows your systems and stays; a consulting team brings patterns from many estates and leaves a written plan. Many clients use us for the first architecture and the hard reviews, then hand day-to-day ownership to their own staff.
Sketching a new application on Azure?Send the users, the systems it must talk to and the date you need it live. We reply with the Azure services we would pick, the first release and what it would take to run.
When to build apps on Azure, and when another cloud fits better
Build apps on Azure when your identity, data and business software already live in Microsoft’s world. Pick another cloud when your team, your data platform or a customer contract points elsewhere.
| Signal | Points to Azure | Points to AWS or Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Staff already sign in with Microsoft Entra ID | Identity sits with another provider and nothing ties you to Microsoft |
| Data | SQL Server or Azure SQL is the system of record | Your analytics platform already runs on another cloud |
| Business software | Dynamics, Microsoft 365 or SharePoint must integrate | Your core tools are cloud-neutral SaaS |
| Team skills | Engineers write C# and know Visual Studio | Engineers are deep in another provider’s services |
| Contracts | Existing Microsoft agreements or credits | A customer requires hosting on a named other cloud |
The Microsoft stack advantage
When sign-in, data and productivity software already come from Microsoft, an Azure application inherits single sign-on, familiar admin tools and native connectors. That is often worth more than a small difference in compute price.
When we recommend against Azure
If your engineers know another cloud well and nothing in your stack is Microsoft-specific, moving them to Azure for one product adds learning cost without a matching benefit. Our AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud comparison sets out the service-by-service differences.
Azure application modernization: rehost, replatform, refactor or rebuild
Modernizing an older application on Azure means choosing, workload by workload, how much to change on the way in. Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework names the options and when each fits.
| Strategy | What changes | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|
| Retire | The workload is switched off | It has little business value left |
| Rehost | Moved like for like, such as a VM to an Azure VM | It is stable, compatible and will not need modernizing for two years |
| Replatform | Moved onto PaaS with minimal code changes | You want less maintenance, such as a VM app onto App Service |
| Refactor | Code improved without new features | Technical debt or cloud fit is the problem |
| Rearchitect | Structure redesigned, often split into services | Parts of the app need to scale or change separately |
| Rebuild | Rewritten as a cloud-native application | The legacy system is too outdated to carry forward |
| Replace | Swapped for a SaaS product | A commercial product meets the need with little customization |
| Retain | Left where it is for now | It is stable and there is no near-term reason to move |
Azure legacy modernization for .NET Framework applications
Older .NET Framework apps often depend on the Windows server they grew up on. Microsoft now offers Managed Instance on App Service for Windows apps that need COM components, registry access, installers or mapped drives, which can avoid a rewrite for the first move. Our .NET development services team handles the code side of that work.
Moving the data with the application
Most modernization risk sits in the database. We rehearse the data move in a non-production environment first, measure how long it takes, decide whether the cutover can tolerate downtime, and write the rollback steps before the real date.
Azure migration services for whole portfolios
When the job is moving many applications rather than modernizing one, it runs through our cloud migration services practice, which covers assessment, landing zones and cutover across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.
Azure development services from commit to production
Every change should reach production the same way: through a pipeline that builds it, tests it, deploys it to staging and promotes it only after checks pass. That routine is what makes frequent, low-drama releases possible.
- A staging slot or environment that mirrors production
- A pipeline that runs tests and a security scan on every pull request
- Templates that can rebuild every environment from nothing
- Alerts on errors, latency and spend that reach a named person
- A restore from backup tested before launch
- A decision log and runbook stored with the code
Environments that match production
Development, test and staging environments are created from the same templates as production, with smaller sizes and their own data. When an environment is not needed overnight or at weekends, we schedule it down so it does not bill.
Pipelines in Azure DevOps or GitHub
App Service supports continuous deployment from GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines and other tools. We use whichever your engineers already work in; a pull request runs tests and a security scan, and a merge deploys to staging.
Infrastructure defined in templates
No resource is created by clicking in the portal. Bicep or Terraform files describe every plan, database, queue and role assignment, are reviewed like code and can rebuild an environment from nothing. That is also how a disaster recovery test becomes realistic.
Handover inside your own subscription
The application, its templates and its pipelines live in a Microsoft tenant and repositories registered to your organization. Our access is granted through roles you control, so ending the engagement means removing those roles, nothing more.
Azure app security features we switch on from day one
Security on Azure is mostly configuration: who can reach what, with which identity, and what gets logged. We set it up before the first feature ships, because retrofitting it later is slower and riskier.
| Control | What it prevents | How we check it |
|---|---|---|
| Managed identities between services | Passwords and keys stored in config files | No connection string carries a secret |
| Key Vault for remaining secrets | Secrets in code or pipeline variables | Pipeline scans fail on a committed secret |
| Entra ID sign-in with roles | Shared accounts and home-made logins | Role list reviewed with the business owner |
| Private networking for data | Databases reachable from the internet | Public network access disabled and tested |
| Least-privilege role assignments | One compromised identity reaching everything | Each identity’s roles listed in the templates |
| Central logging and alerts | Incidents nobody notices | Alert fires in a test and reaches a person |
Managed identities instead of stored credentials
Microsoft explains that managed identities let an application obtain Entra tokens without managing any credentials, and that they can be used at no extra cost. We give each service its own identity and grant it only the database, queue or storage access it needs.
Compliance needs, stated up front
If an application will hold health, payment or other regulated data, we write those requirements into the scope before design starts and build inside them; your compliance lead or counsel decides how the rules apply to your business.
Reliability and cost control, as everyday practice
An Azure application stays fast and affordable when someone watches it after launch: alerts on errors and latency, budgets on spend, and a monthly look at what is oversized or idle.
Budgets that warn, and what they do not do
Azure Cost Management budgets send notifications when thresholds are exceeded, but Microsoft is clear that resources are not affected and consumption is not stopped. We set budgets per environment, alert at forecast as well as actual spend, and review the cost export each month.
Scaling the plan, not just the app
On App Service, all apps in a plan share its VM instances and scale together. Busy apps get their own plan so a spike in one does not slow the rest, and autoscale rules follow real load rather than guesses.
Commitments for steady workloads
For workloads that run all day, every day, Microsoft offers savings plans and reserved instances, which it says can save up to 55% on predictable App Service workloads. We recommend a commitment only after a few months of real usage data.
Azure software development process: from discovery to handover
Our Azure software development runs in short, visible steps, each ending in something you can see working. Scope is written before build starts, and changes to it are agreed in writing too.
| Phase | Deliverable | Measured by |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Users, systems, constraints, success measures | Signed-off requirements list |
| Architecture | Service choices, subscription layout, decision log | Written scope and estimate |
| Foundations | Environments, pipeline, sign-in, logging | A trivial change deployed end to end |
| Build | Features in two-week sprints | Demo each sprint, defects open |
| Hardening | Load, security and recovery tests | Targets met, restore tested |
| Launch and support | Cutover, monitoring, cost review | Uptime, errors, spend against budget |
How do you build an app on Azure, step by step?
Start from the users and the systems it must connect to, choose the hosting shape, create the environments from templates, get sign-in and a pipeline working before any feature, then build in short sprints with a demo at the end of each. Load and recovery tests come before launch, not after.
Azure custom application development versus an off-the-shelf product
If a SaaS product covers most of what you need, Microsoft’s own guidance lists replacing as a valid strategy, and so do we. Custom builds pay off when the workflow is a source of advantage or no product handles your integrations.
An older .NET or on-premises app that needs a new home?Tell us what it runs on today and what hurts. We will say whether to rehost, replatform, refactor or rebuild it, and why.
How much do Azure app development services cost?
Every engagement is quoted after a written scope. For orientation, the table repeats the published US price bands for comparable work that already appear on this site; they are market figures, not a Progression rate card.
| Work | Published US price band | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Focused ASP.NET Core application or API | $40,000 to $100,000 | 2 to 4 months |
| Integrated business platform | $100,000 to $250,000 | 4 to 8 months |
| .NET Framework migration | $30,000 to $150,000 | 2 to 6 months |
| Single application or website migration | $10,000 to $60,000 | 3 to 8 weeks |
| CI/CD pipeline setup | $5,000 to $20,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Cloud infrastructure as code | $15,000 to $60,000 | 4 to 10 weeks |
| Technical assessment or code audit | $5,000 to $15,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Architecture and roadmap | $10,000 to $40,000 | 3 to 8 weeks |
What moves an Azure development cost up or down
The number of integrations, how much data must move, user roles and approval rules, compliance requirements, the number of environments and how much of an older system must be understood first. A clear scope with one decision maker on your side brings it down more than anything else.
The Azure bill is separate
Hosting, databases and other Azure services are billed to you by Microsoft. We estimate the monthly running cost during scoping, from Microsoft’s own pricing for your region, and set budgets so the estimate is tracked after launch.
Hire Azure developers: project, dedicated team or advisory
You can hire Azure developers from us in three ways: a fixed-scope project, a dedicated team that works in your tools, or advisory hours for your own engineers. The right model depends on who will own the code after launch.
| Model | How it works | Best when | Who owns day-to-day decisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-scope project | Agreed deliverables, timeline and acceptance tests | The outcome is clear and bounded | Our lead, with your sign-off |
| Dedicated Azure development team | Engineers on your backlog, monthly, in your repositories | Work is ongoing or the backlog shifts | Your product owner |
| Advisory | Architecture and review hours for your engineers | You have builders but want a second opinion | Your team |
Hire dedicated Azure developers by the month
A dedicated engineer joins your stand-ups, works your tickets and follows your review rules. The published US price figures on our dedicated developers page are $8,000 to $13,000 a month for a mid-level developer and $12,000 to $18,000 for a senior one; the quote for Azure work follows a written scope.
Azure staff augmentation versus a managed team
Augmentation adds individuals your managers direct. A managed team brings its own lead who answers for delivery. Teams without senior Azure experience in-house usually do better with the second, at least for the first release.
How to choose an Azure development company
Choose the provider that asks about your users and systems before naming services, shows how it tests and hands over, and puts ownership of code and subscription in the contract. Each requirement below can be checked before you sign.
| Requirement | How to check it |
|---|---|
| Builds in your subscription and repositories | Ask whose tenant the first resource will be created in |
| Infrastructure as code, not portal clicks | Ask to see a sample template and how it is reviewed |
| Real Azure references | Ask for a reference you can call about a comparable build |
| Partner status stated accurately | If they claim a Microsoft partner designation, look it up in Microsoft’s own partner directory |
| Running costs estimated up front | Ask for a monthly Azure estimate with its assumptions |
| Security configured before features | Ask how secrets, identities and private networking are handled |
| A written handover | Ask what documentation and runbooks your team receives |
- Ask which Azure service they would not use for your app, and why
- Ask how a failed deployment is rolled back
- Ask how they would cut your Azure bill if it doubled
- Ask who on their side is accountable for production incidents
- Ask how they hand over access when the engagement ends
Red flags when hiring an Azure development partner
Services chosen before any discovery, resources created by hand in the portal, admin credentials shared by email, no mention of cost until the first invoice, or a build that only the vendor can deploy.
Is Azure suitable for small businesses as well as enterprises?
Yes, because you pay for what you run. A small company can start on a modest App Service plan and a small database; an enterprise adds private networking, isolated tiers and several regions. The architecture should match today’s size with a clear path to the next one.
How buyers ask AI assistants for an Azure development partner
Engineering leaders now ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Google AI Overviews to explain an Azure choice or shortlist providers before they contact anyone.
The questions they type
Who builds .NET applications on Azure, which Azure development company can modernize an old app, App Service or Container Apps for an API, and what a first Azure build costs. Assistants assemble answers from pages that state scope, trade-offs and price bands plainly.
What tends to get cited
Microsoft Learn for service facts, provider pages with clear service lists, architecture explanations and published price bands, review sites and directories, and technical write-ups that explain a decision. Vague capability lists are rarely quoted.
What a software company should publish to be named
If your own product runs on Azure, the same rules help you: plain answers to your buyers’ questions, specific facts you can stand behind and consistent company details everywhere you appear. Our AI app development team covers adding AI features to applications like yours.
Related software and cloud services
These pages cover the work around an Azure application, from the code itself to its pipeline, hosting and migration.
- Cloud app development on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
- .NET and ASP.NET Core development
- Cloud migration assessments and cutovers
- CI/CD, infrastructure as code and managed DevOps
- How to host a website on Microsoft Azure
- AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud for web apps
- Enterprise application development
- Web application development
- Web and mobile app development
- Custom software development
- AI application development
- Software consulting and architecture reviews
- Dedicated developers for your team
- SaaS product development
- API design and development
- Backend engineering and databases
Get an Azure build or review scoped
Tell us what the application must do, who uses it, what it connects to and where it runs today. We will send a free proposal for Azure app development services with the services we would use, the first release and its running cost.
Getting found in search
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Frequently asked questions
What do Azure app development services include from start to finish?
What role does Microsoft Azure play while software is being developed?
Is Azure App Service free to use?
How much does Azure App Service cost once an app is in production?
Is Azure App Service platform as a service?
Is Azure App Service serverless?
How does Azure App Service work behind the scenes?
Azure versus Azure DevOps: how are the two different?
Can you migrate our existing application to Azure?
Can an Azure application work with Jenkins, Jira and other third-party tools?
Does Azure suit small businesses as well as large enterprises?
What security features does an Azure application get?
Do you hold a Microsoft partner designation?
Which Azure services do you build with most often?
Do you build .NET applications on Azure?
From kickoff, how many months does a first Azure release need?
What price bands apply to Azure app development projects?
Who owns the code and the Azure subscription after launch?
Can you review an Azure environment someone else built?
Do you provide support after an Azure application goes live?
Can a company in another state or country hire your Azure developers?
Which details speed up the scoping of an Azure build?
Sketching a new application on Azure?Send the users, the systems it must talk to and the date you need it live. We reply with the Azure services we would pick, the first release and what it would take to run.
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