Last modified: Jan 31 2026 at 10:09 PM • 5 mins read
Examine Deployment Options for Cloud-Native Apps
Table of contents
Overview
Azure provides multiple hosting options for cloud-native applications. Each service is optimized for different scenarios and use cases. This guide helps you understand which Azure service best fits your containerized application needs.
Azure Container Services Comparison
| Service | Best For | Key Strength | Management Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Container Apps | Microservices & event-driven apps | Serverless containers with auto-scaling | Fully managed |
| App Service | Web applications & APIs | Integrated web hosting platform | Fully managed |
| Container Instances (ACI) | Simple container tasks | Quickest container deployment | Minimal management |
| Kubernetes Service (AKS) | Complex orchestration needs | Full Kubernetes control | Self-managed cluster |
| Functions | Event-triggered code | Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) | Fully managed |
| Spring Apps | Java Spring applications | Spring-optimized platform | Fully managed |
| Red Hat OpenShift | Enterprise OpenShift workloads | Full OpenShift experience | Managed OpenShift |
Detailed Service Descriptions
Azure Container Apps
What it is: Serverless platform for running containerized microservices and jobs.
Key Features:
- Built on Kubernetes + open-source technologies (Dapr, KEDA, Envoy)
- Automatic scaling based on HTTP traffic, events, or queues
- Scale to zero when idle (pay nothing for unused capacity)
- Service discovery and traffic splitting built-in
- Supports scheduled and event-driven jobs
When to use:
- ✅ Building microservices architectures
- ✅ Event-driven applications
- ✅ Want Kubernetes benefits without managing clusters
- ❌ Need direct Kubernetes API access (use AKS instead)
Why teams choose it: Best balance of power and simplicity for containerized microservices.
Azure App Service
What it is: Fully managed platform for hosting web applications and APIs.
Key Features:
- Deploy from code or containers
- Integrated with Azure ecosystem (Functions, Container Apps, databases)
- Built-in authentication, scaling, and monitoring
- Support for .NET, Java, Node.js, Python, PHP
When to use:
- ✅ Traditional web applications
- ✅ REST APIs
- ✅ Need integrated web hosting features
- ❌ Complex microservices (use Container Apps instead)
Why teams choose it: Simplest path for deploying standard web applications.
Azure Container Instances (ACI)
What it is: On-demand container execution without orchestration.
Key Features:
- Single containers or container groups
- Hyper-V isolation for security
- Per-second billing
- No cluster management required
Key Limitation: No built-in load balancing, auto-scaling, or certificate management.
When to use:
- ✅ Simple batch jobs
- ✅ Task automation
- ✅ Build agents
- ✅ Testing and development
- ❌ Production microservices (use Container Apps instead)
Why teams choose it: Simplest building block for running a single container quickly.
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
What it is: Fully managed Kubernetes with complete API access.
Key Features:
- Full Kubernetes control plane access
- Run any Kubernetes workload
- Complete control over cluster configuration
- Integration with Azure services and monitoring
When to use:
- ✅ Need Kubernetes API access
- ✅ Complex orchestration requirements
- ✅ Existing Kubernetes expertise
- ✅ Migrate from on-premises Kubernetes
- ❌ Want to avoid cluster management (use Container Apps instead)
Why teams choose it: Maximum flexibility and control for Kubernetes workloads.
Azure Functions
What it is: Serverless compute for event-driven code execution.
Key Features:
- Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) programming model
- Automatic scaling and event binding
- Deploy as code or containers
- Pay per execution (consumption plan)
- Rich triggers and bindings (HTTP, timers, queues, databases)
When to use:
- ✅ Event-driven functions
- ✅ Scheduled tasks
- ✅ Webhooks and APIs
- ✅ Data processing pipelines
- ❌ Long-running processes (use Container Apps instead)
Why teams choose it: Fastest way to deploy event-driven code without infrastructure management.
Azure Spring Apps
What it is: Managed service specifically for Java Spring Framework applications.
Key Features:
- Optimized for Spring Boot and Spring Cloud
- Built-in Spring configuration management
- Service discovery, circuit breakers, and config servers
- Blue-green deployments
- Comprehensive monitoring and diagnostics
When to use:
- ✅ Java Spring applications
- ✅ Spring Boot microservices
- ✅ Spring Cloud architectures
- ❌ Non-Spring applications (use other services)
Why teams choose it: Best experience for Spring developers with infrastructure managed for you.
Azure Red Hat OpenShift
What it is: Managed OpenShift platform jointly operated by Red Hat and Microsoft.
Key Features:
- Full OpenShift experience on Azure
- Integrated product support from both Microsoft and Red Hat
- Choose your own registry, networking, storage, CI/CD
- Built-in source code management and container builds
- Automated scaling and health management
When to use:
- ✅ Existing OpenShift investment
- ✅ Enterprise OpenShift requirements
- ✅ Need Red Hat support and ecosystem
- ❌ Starting fresh (consider AKS or Container Apps)
Why teams choose it: Seamless migration path for organizations already using OpenShift.
Decision Tree
Start here: What are you deploying?
- Web application or API → App Service
- Event-driven functions → Azure Functions
- Java Spring applications → Azure Spring Apps
- Existing OpenShift workloads → Azure Red Hat OpenShift
- Containerized applications:
- Need Kubernetes API access? → AKS
- Simple single container task? → Container Instances
- Microservices or event-driven? → Container Apps ⭐ (Recommended starting point)
Key Takeaways
- Azure Container Apps is the recommended starting point for most containerized microservices
- App Service remains the best choice for traditional web applications
- AKS provides full Kubernetes control when you need it
- Functions excels at event-driven, short-lived operations
- Container Instances is the simplest option for running a single container
- Specialized services exist for Spring (Java) and OpenShift workloads