Hello,

If someone can help me i would be gratefull.

I have the following problem.

The thing we want to do with Microsoft Azure is create somewhat like an cloud for word, excel documents etc. We need the documents all the time on different locations and we need to set certain rights to some folders.

Now is the thing we dont really know what the best solution is for us.

Can someone please help us out.

Thanks in advance

Hi,

To store documents like word and excel you could consider using Azure Blob Storage.
Azure Blob storage is a service for storing large amounts of unstructured data, such as text or binary data, that can be accessed from anywhere in the world via HTTP or HTTPS. You can use Blob storage to expose data publicly to the world, or to store application data privately.
You could refer the following links to:

Save word/excel documents to Azure Blobs: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/davidlem/archive/2009/07/20/save-your-word-docs-to-windows-azure-blobs.aspx

Downloading word/excel files from Azure Storage: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/avkashchauhan/archive/2011/04/05/downloading-word-and-excel-files-from-windows-azure-storage-in-a-asp-net-web-role.aspx

You could also consider Azure File Storage which is currently in Preview.
File storage offers shared storage for applications using the standard SMB 2.1 protocol.
Applications running in Azure virtual machines or cloud services can mount a File storage share to access file data, just as a desktop application would.
Any number of Azure virtual machines or roles can mount and access the File storage share simultaneously.
You could refer the following link for details on Azure File Storage:

http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/storage-dotnet-how-to-use-files/

You could refer the following link for details on all the available Azure Data Storage Options:

http://www.asp.net/aspnet/overview/developing-apps-with-windows-azure/building-real-world-cloud-apps-with-windows-azure/data-storage-options

And for setting rights to some folders:

You could refer the following link to restrict access to containers and blobs in Azure storage:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/dd179354.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

Or you could consider using Shared Access Signatures, refer the following link for details:

http://azure.microsoft.com/eN-us/documentation/articles/storage-dotnet-shared-access-signature-part-1/

Regards,Malar.

• Marked as answer by Michael CurdMicrosoft employee, Moderator 10 hours 40 minutes ago

Good suggestions Nagamalar

However, it might be worth looking at this from a different angle.

Have you looked at Office 365 for your Company. If not, it looks like it will be at least one solution for you. Not only will you be able to migrate your mail, but then you can use Skydrive for Business / SharePoint Online to share your docs across laptops / desktops / Mobile Devices / Tablets etc

Cheers

Amjad

• Marked as answer by Michael CurdMicrosoft employee, Moderator 10 hours 40 minutes ago

Hi,

To store documents like word and excel you could consider using Azure Blob Storage.
Azure Blob storage is a service for storing large amounts of unstructured data, such as text or binary data, that can be accessed from anywhere in the world via HTTP or HTTPS. You can use Blob storage to expose data publicly to the world, or to store application data privately.
You could refer the following links to:

Save word/excel documents to Azure Blobs: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/davidlem/archive/2009/07/20/save-your-word-docs-to-windows-azure-blobs.aspx

Downloading word/excel files from Azure Storage: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/avkashchauhan/archive/2011/04/05/downloading-word-and-excel-files-from-windows-azure-storage-in-a-asp-net-web-role.aspx

You could also consider Azure File Storage which is currently in Preview.
File storage offers shared storage for applications using the standard SMB 2.1 protocol.
Applications running in Azure virtual machines or cloud services can mount a File storage share to access file data, just as a desktop application would.
Any number of Azure virtual machines or roles can mount and access the File storage share simultaneously.
You could refer the following link for details on Azure File Storage:

http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/storage-dotnet-how-to-use-files/

You could refer the following link for details on all the available Azure Data Storage Options:

http://www.asp.net/aspnet/overview/developing-apps-with-windows-azure/building-real-world-cloud-apps-with-windows-azure/data-storage-options

And for setting rights to some folders:

You could refer the following link to restrict access to containers and blobs in Azure storage:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/dd179354.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

Or you could consider using Shared Access Signatures, refer the following link for details:

http://azure.microsoft.com/eN-us/documentation/articles/storage-dotnet-shared-access-signature-part-1/

Regards,Malar.

• Marked as answer by Michael CurdMicrosoft employee, Moderator Tuesday, March 24, 2015 8:35 PM

Microsoft has a solution based on Axure for your needs exactly - OneDrive for Business

https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-us/business/

• Proposed as answer by Leonid Kulikov 14 hours 38 minutes ago
• Marked as answer by Michael CurdMicrosoft employee, Moderator 10 hours 40 minutes ago

Good suggestions Nagamalar

However, it might be worth looking at this from a different angle.

Have you looked at Office 365 for your Company. If not, it looks like it will be at least one solution for you. Not only will you be able to migrate your mail, but then you can use Skydrive for Business / SharePoint Online to share your docs across laptops / desktops / Mobile Devices / Tablets etc

Cheers

Amjad

• Marked as answer by Michael CurdMicrosoft employee, Moderator Tuesday, March 24, 2015 8:35 PM

Microsoft has a solution based on Axure for your needs exactly - OneDrive for Business

https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-us/business/

• Proposed as answer by Leonid Kulikov Tuesday, March 24, 2015 4:37 PM
• Marked as answer by Michael CurdMicrosoft employee, Moderator Tuesday, March 24, 2015 8:35 PM

The answers proposed so far should help. If you want to build your own solution please look at Malar's post. If you'd like to use an existing solution that already does everything you asked for, look at Amjad and Leonid's post. Thanks.