Unlocking the Power of Azure Extended Zones for CIOs and CTOs
When you're managing large-scale IT operations, every millisecond counts. That’s why I’m thrilled to talk about Azure Extended Zones—a game changer for organisations like yours that are pushing boundaries while managing complex infrastructures.
These zones are now rolling out in select locations globally, including here in Perth, Western Australia, and they’re designed to tackle critical challenges like latency and data residency, especially in regions without a dedicated Azure region nearby.
What Are Azure Extended Zones?
Azure Extended Zones are essentially satellite zones tied to existing Azure regions, bringing compute and storage resources closer to users and businesses in remote areas. For corporate IT ecosystems, this means significantly lower latency, improved performance, and enhanced user experiences—all without needing to compromise on advanced Azure features or reliability.
Why It Matters for CIOs and CTOs
The benefits of Azure Extended Zones are immediately apparent for CIOs and CTOs, especially if you oversee a distributed workforce, expansive global operations, or latency-critical applications. Here are a few key advantages that stand out:
Reduced Latency: For example, when connecting from Perth to Sydney, latency can range anywhere from 50 to 90 milliseconds. With an Extended Zone right here in WA, that drops significantly to as low as just a few milliseconds, enabling seamless operations for applications and services like Azure Virtual Desktops (AVD).
Improved User Experience: Performance matters, especially when it comes to key applications like AVD. Housing desktops and applications in close physical proximity to your users makes a massive difference in responsiveness and satisfaction.
Seamless Integration: No new systems to learn here—Azure Extended Zones integrate smoothly with the Azure portal, PowerShell scripts, and all the familiar tools your team already uses.
A Practical Use Case – Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD)
Picture this. You run an organisation where remote work is a key driver, and application performance can make or break productivity and morale. Deploying AVD within an Azure Extended Zone means your end-user desktops are closer to your workforce, slashing connection times, eliminating bottlenecks, and providing an efficient, high-performing workspace experience.
Additional use cases include high availability projects, disaster recovery solutions, or even leveraging existing data centres with an extended zone for scaling resources flexibly across locations.
Architectural Considerations
Of course, no deployment is complete without careful planning, especially when it comes to configuring network resources.
Azure Load Balancer: You may need to look at outbound connectivity requirements for some solutions. With AVD for example, Azure Load Balancer with outbound rules is one way to ensure outbound connectivity, because NAT gateways aren’t supported in these configurations.
Additional Deployment Requirements: Requesting access, configuring zones, and ensuring proper integration with existing environments are all critical steps. That said, these zones still retain all the core benefits and functionalities you’d expect from Azure.
Third Party Vendor Support: If you’re using vendor solutions in Azure today and considering using Extended Zones, check support with any vendor solutions as they may not already be there, though most generally do.
Broader Design Considerations: Consider where Extended Zones are the right fit for you. They don’t have the same levels of resiliency as a full region and in some cases where you need site resiliency, using Azure Local or your own hypervisor of choice might be a better fit.
Get Ahead with Azure Extended Zones
Azure Extended Zones help with enabling your organisation to achieve its core goals faster and more effectively where latency and proximity to resources is a consideration.These zones give you the flexibility to adapt to today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities. Whether it's extending your current Azure infrastructure or laying the foundation for digital transformation, the potential is enormous.
Thinking about exploring Azure Extended Zones? Have questions about deployment complexities, extending your existing architecture or looking at opportunities for your organisation? I’d love to work through your unique scenarios and even set up a demonstration tailored to your requirements.
Feel free to reach out or comment below—we can drive the conversation further around modernising your infrastructure for true operational excellence.
