For a lot of the features and functions we are going to use throughout this blog, we will make use of Microsoft Azure. While not everyone will have an existing account, there is no need to worry as you can apply for a free trial here.
Once you have been presented with this landing page, click on the 'Start for free' button to get the ball rolling. You should then be challenged for some credentials like this:
If you don't see the account you used from previous posts, just click on the 'Use another account' option and you will be able to enter in the credentials you wish. For this scenario, we are going to use the same credentials that we created when we created our Dynamics 365 trial instance. This will mean that the Azure subscription is associated with the same user and this just simplifies certain scenarios. You are welcome to associate the subscription with the account of your choice though.
Following the validation of your credentials, you will be prompted to complete some subscription details as follows:
*During the Identification stages, you will require a valid email address or mobile number where a confirmation pin can be sent. You will also need a valid credit card to complete the verification by card step. Even though you are required to input your credit card details, a charge is never put through onto you card and once your free £150 allocation is used up, the account will stop working rather than charge you. This can be changed if necessary but will feature in an additional post.
Once all of these details have been confirmed and you have completed the wizard, you should be presented with a confirmation as such:
Clicking on the 'Get started with your Azure subscription' button will present you with the Azure portal landing page. Note, this is the new portal page and will typically look like this:
To confirm that your subscription has been successfully allocated, click on the 'Subscriptions' menu item in the bottom left hand corner of the screen and the result should be the following:
Awesome! It's all allocated correctly and now it's time to make use of the amazing power of the cloud. Lookout for the next blog post where we will start to leverage some of the functions available to use from this subscription.