- Technologies
- Microsoft Azure
- Azure Service Bus
Azure Service Bus
Reliable, secure and scalable messaging for modern distributed applications
Get in touch
Azure Service Bus
Azure Service Bus is a fully managed enterprise message broker (MaaS) from Microsoft, designed to connect applications, services and systems with reliable messaging at cloud-scale.
It enables secure and decoupled communication between microservices, APIs, legacy systems and cloud-native applications.
Our Clients
Businesses that have trusted us
Key features of Azure Service Bus
Here are some of the standout features of Azure Service Bus:
Build reliable and elastic cloud applications
Develop robust, cloud-native applications that handle messaging at any scale, ensuring reliability and flexibility under all conditions.
Decouple applications for greater agility
Simplify your architecture by decoupling services and applications, allowing them to evolve, scale and operate independently without tight integration.
Distribute messages across multiple systems
Easily route and distribute messages to multiple, independent back-end systems, enabling complex processing and integration scenarios.
Enable existing Java Message Service (JMS) Applications
Connect and modernise your existing JMS workloads with native compatibility, reducing migration complexity and preserving legacy investments.
Protect applications from traffic spikes
Use asynchronous messaging to absorb sudden bursts of traffic, protecting your applications from overload and improving system stability.
Connect on-Premises systems to the cloud
Bridge legacy on-premises infrastructure (which has implicit messaging support) with modern cloud-based messaging solutions (like Service Bus), ensuring communication, business continuity and accelerated digital transformation.
Scale ordered messaging with multiple readers
Handle large volumes of messages while maintaining order and consistency across multiple consumers with built-in session and partitioning support.
Get a Free Azure Service Bus Consultation
Whether you're planning a new cloud integration, migrating from legacy systems or scaling existing architectures, our Azure integration specialists can help you design the right messaging solution. Book a free consultation with Claria today and start your journey to a more resilient and scalable system.
Request a free consultationBenefits of Azure Service Bus
Organisations turn to Azure Service Bus to simplify communication between systems and improve reliability across distributed applications.
Reliable message delivery at scale
Azure Service Bus ensures that messages are delivered exactly once and in order, even under heavy load, supporting mission-critical workflows without data loss.
Built-in enterprise security
Messages are protected with end-to-end encryption and access is controlled through Azure Active Directory (AAD) integration and role-based access control (RBAC), meeting stringent compliance requirements.
Event-driven integration
Azure Service Bus integrates natively with Azure Functions, Logic Apps and Event Grid, enabling event-driven architectures without the need for additional middleware.
Advanced messaging patterns
Support for transactions, message sessions, duplicate detection and dead-lettering provides full control over complex messaging scenarios in enterprise environments.
High availability and disaster recovery
With automatic geo-replication and failover, Azure Service Bus maintains messaging continuity during regional outages, protecting business operations without manual intervention.
How we help with Azure Service Bus
Azure Service Bus Training
As an Azure partner, we equip your teams with the skills to design, operate and troubleshoot Azure Service Bus environments confidently, including deep dives into advanced messaging patterns and operational best practices.
Design
We define messaging patterns, security models and delivery flows aligned with your architecture and business goals.
Migration to Azure Service Bus
We help you migrate from traditional messaging brokers like MSMQ, RabbitMQ or on-premises Service Bus for Windows Server, ensuring a secure transition to Azure.
Architecture
We create scalable, resilient Azure Service Bus architectures optimised for throughput, reliability and disaster recovery.
Security and Governance
We design Service Bus implementations that meet enterprise security standards, including access control (RBAC, AAD integration), message encryption and auditing, aligned with your compliance frameworks.
Azure Implementation / Development
We deploy Azure Service Bus environments, build custom integrations and develop advanced messaging workflows.
Monitoring and Operations
We establish robust monitoring and alerting for Azure Service Bus, ensuring early detection of bottlenecks, failures or anomalies to maintain system reliability.
Delivery / Project Management
We manage full project lifecycles, ensuring your Azure messaging solutions are delivered on time and meet your objectives.
Azure Managed Services / Azure Support
We provide proactive management, SLA-driven support and continuous improvement services to ensure your Azure Service Bus environment remains stable, efficient and ready to scale.
Team Augmentation
We provide experienced Azure specialists (architects, developers, integration engineers and project managers) to strengthen your internal teams.
Certified Azure Service Bus Licensing Provider
Expert support to acquire, optimise and manage your Azure Service Bus subscriptions
Considering a new Azure Service Bus deployment or expanding your existing messaging infrastructure but unsure how to license it efficiently?
At Claria, as certified Azure partners, we provide expert support to organisations at every stage of their Azure Service Bus journey. Typically, we help two types of organisations:
Those scaling existing Service Bus environments who require licensing re-evaluation to optimise cost and performance.
Those starting new Service Bus implementations who need a cost-effective, future-proof licensing plan from day one.
Understanding Azure Service Bus Licensing
Azure Service Bus follows a tier-based pricing model, not a per-user or per-message license. The main options are:
Basic Tier
Ideal for simple queue-based messaging with minimal features.
Standard Tier
Supports queues, topics, duplicate detection, sessions and transactions.
Premium Tier
Provides resource isolation, predictable performance and enterprise-grade features through dedicated messaging units (MUs).
Licensing costs vary based on:
Tier selected (Basic, Standard, Premium)
Number of operations (send, receive, complete)
Message size and retention duration
Throughput requirements (Premium: Messaging Units)
Networking and data transfer usage
Choosing the right combination has a direct impact on your system's scalability, reliability and operational costs and that’s exactly where Claria can help, ensuring your Azure Service Bus licensing strategy supports your business goals without unnecessary overhead.
Azure Azure Service Bus Pricing and Cost
What does it really cost to run Azure Service Bus?
If you're considering Azure Service Bus as part of your integration or messaging strategy, one of the first questions is: How much will it cost to implement and operate this solution at scale?
Azure Service Bus uses a tier-based pricing model, offering flexibility depending on your architectural needs, throughput demands and feature requirements. Azure Service Bus pricing is based on operations, capacity and features.
See Azure Service Bus Prices
What can you expect to spend on Azure Service Bus Licensing?
Azure Service Bus can be very cost-effective for small to medium workloads, especially when using Basic or Standard tiers.
For large-scale, enterprise-grade scenarios, especially those requiring high throughput, message ordering, transactions or isolation, the Premium tier is recommended and priced accordingly.
The good news: You only pay for the capacity, operations and features you actually need. This allows you to scale responsibly without the unpredictable costs often associated with legacy messaging platforms.
How Claria helps with Azure Service Bus pricing
At Claria, we help you calculate the true cost of Azure Service Bus based on your real-world architecture, usage patterns and growth plans, not theoretical models. Our Azure experts work with you to:
Analyse your expected and peak messaging volumes
Select the most cost-effective tier and configuration
Optimise message size, batching and throughput strategies
Forecast scaling requirements to avoid future cost spikes
Build governance controls to monitor and manage operational spending
We don’t provide generic quotes. We provide realistic, tailored cost models based on how you actually intend to use Azure Service Bus.
When to use Azure Service Bus
Here are common scenarios where Azure Service Bus is the best choice:
You need reliable, guaranteed message delivery
When critical business processes depend on every message being delivered exactly once, even during outages or failures, Azure Service Bus provides the durability and recovery mechanisms required.
You need to decouple applications and services
Azure Service Bus allows systems to communicate asynchronously without tight integration, enabling independent scaling, evolution and deployment of your applications and services.
You require publish/subscribe patterns or message routing
If your architecture requires a message to reach multiple receivers, Azure Service Bus supports topics and subscriptions to distribute events efficiently across systems.
You manage high-throughput, enterprise-grade workloads
For organisations needing predictable performance, message ordering, sessions, transactions or geo-replication at scale, Azure Service Bus Premium offers dedicated capacity with built-in reliability.
You are modernising legacy messaging systems
Azure Service Bus is ideal for migrating from traditional message brokers like MSMQ, RabbitMQ or IBM MQ, offering enterprise-grade capabilities with cloud-native flexibility.
You need secure, compliant messaging
With end-to-end encryption, role-based access control (RBAC) and integration with Azure Active Directory (AAD), Azure Service Bus meets the needs of regulated industries and secure communication standards.
Azure Service Bus Considerations
Here’s what we explore with you before any Azure Service Bus project:
Are you integrating a few applications or orchestrating dozens of systems across regions? Understanding the scale and flow complexity determines the tier, configuration and operational model you’ll need.
Does your business need strict message ordering, transactions or session-based workflows? These needs influence how queues, topics and sessions should be architected and optimised.
High message volumes, low-latency demands or unpredictable spikes require different planning, including choosing between Standard and Premium tiers and designing for auto-scaling.
If messaging failures would disrupt core business operations, you’ll need to plan for redundancy, disaster recovery and geo-replication strategies.
Effective governance involves setting up telemetry, health monitoring, access controls, auditing and cost management practices to sustain operational excellence.
Service Bus should integrate naturally with your application landscape, event-driven architectures and future digital plans, not be treated as a standalone platform.
Why choose Claria? Your trusted Azure Service Bus partner
We design for real-world complexity
Every business has unique messaging needs and we reflect that in our architectures. We don’t force your systems into a template. We shape Service Bus solutions around your operational, security and scaling realities.
We align messaging with business goals
We treat messaging as a strategic enabler, not just a technical service. We ensure that your Azure Service Bus setup supports faster delivery, better user experiences, operational resilience and future digital growth.
We deliver with precision and pragmatism
Messaging projects succeed on the details: message flow handling, security hardening, throughput tuning, disaster recovery design. We bring disciplined project delivery and Azure expertise to ensure nothing important gets missed.
We stay close to the teams that run and build the systems
We work side-by-side with architects, developers and operations teams, not just during implementation, but as partners in building messaging ecosystems that are sustainable and evolvable.
We plan for your tomorrow, not just today
Our designs anticipate scaling challenges, operational risks and future system integrations. As Azure partners, we make sure your Azure Service Bus architecture is a foundation you can build on, not a constraint you’ll have to fix later.
Need an Azure partner who understands your real-world challenges?
If you're looking for a partner who aligns architecture with outcomes, builds with precision and supports long-term scalability, you're in the right place. Let’s talk about your architecture, goals and what’s next.
Get in touchTalk to our Azure experts
Send us a message and we’ll get right back to you.
Call us on
Email us on
Azure Service Bus FAQs
No, Azure Service Bus and Apache Kafka are not the same, although both are messaging systems that facilitate communication between distributed applications.
Azure Service Bus is a fully managed messaging service provided by Microsoft, designed for enterprise integration scenarios requiring high reliability, transactional messaging and advanced message routing.
Apache Kafka is an open-source event streaming platform, built for handling large volumes of real-time data with low latency across distributed systems.
Key differences:
Service Bus is suited for reliable enterprise messaging, such as application integration in microservices architectures.
Kafka is more appropriate for event streaming and real-time analytics involving very large data flows.
Azure Service Bus is categorised as a Platform as a Service (PaaS).
As a PaaS offering, Service Bus provides the messaging infrastructure necessary for developers to build and connect applications, without having to manage the underlying servers, operating systems, or network components.
The user is responsible for defining queues, topics, rules and other configurations but Microsoft handles all aspects of availability, scalability and maintenance.
In contrast, Software as a Service (SaaS) refers to complete software solutions that require minimal configuration and do not expose the internal workings to the user.
Thus, Azure Service Bus is a PaaS, as it offers a platform to build messaging solutions while abstracting the infrastructure management.
Azure Service Bus and RabbitMQ perform similar roles as messaging brokers, but they differ considerably in their design and operational model.
Azure Service Bus:
A fully managed cloud service available on Microsoft Azure.
Designed for enterprise-grade messaging, offering capabilities such as dead-letter queues, duplicate detection, session-based messaging and transactional support.
No user management of servers or scaling is required.
RabbitMQ
An open-source message broker which requires self-hosting and ongoing operational management.
Highly flexible, allowing for complex routing configurations using exchanges and bindings.
Can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments.
In summary, Service Bus is preferable where reduced operational effort and Azure integration are priorities, whereas RabbitMQ is often selected for custom deployment scenarios or more complex routing needs.
Azure Service Bus guarantees "at least once" delivery of messages.
When a sender posts a message to a queue or topic, the message is stored securely until a receiver retrieves and processes it.
If a receiver fails to process the message successfully, the message remains available for re-delivery.
After repeated failures, the message may be moved to a dead-letter queue for later inspection.
Due to the "at least once" delivery model, duplicate messages may occasionally occur. Applications should therefore be designed to handle idempotent processing, ensuring that reprocessing the same message does not lead to errors or inconsistencies.
A Dead-Letter Queue (DLQ) is a secondary queue where messages are placed if they cannot be delivered or processed successfully.
Messages may be sent to a DLQ under several circumstances, including:
Exceeding a maximum number of delivery attempts.
Violations of message size or time-to-live (TTL) constraints.
Explicit rejection by the message consumer.
Dead-letter queues allow developers to examine problematic messages, diagnose issues and implement corrective actions without losing any data.
Message ordering in Azure Service Bus is achieved through the use of Message Sessions.
A SessionId property groups related messages together.
The Service Bus broker ensures that messages sharing the same SessionId are delivered to the same consumer in the exact order they were sent.
Each session is processed by only one receiver at a time, maintaining the intended sequence.
This feature is essential in workflows where message sequence integrity is critical, such as in financial transactions or task coordination systems.
Talk to our experts
Contact our team and discover cutting edge technologies that will empower your business
Call us on
Email us on