Finance management apps using Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Azure App Service
Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Power BI

Solution ideas

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This article outlines a three-tier application for securely storing data and providing high-value analytics over aggregated data. The architecture takes advantage of Azure built-in security and high-performance features.

Architecture

Architecture diagram of a three-tier application. Data flows from a browser and other sources to hosts, into a database, and on to analytics services.

Download a Visio file of this architecture.

Dataflow

The architecture shows the flow of data in a common three-tier application design:

  • A client interacts with the application's presentation tier—a mobile app or a web app in a browser.
  • Azure App Service hosts back-end APIs and business logic in the application tier. These components process and aggregate the financial data.
  • Azure Database for PostgreSQL stores the financial data in the data tier.
  • Power BI ingests data for analytics.

Components

  • App Service enables you to build and host web apps, mobile back ends, and RESTful APIs in the programming language of your choice without managing infrastructure.
  • Azure Database for PostgreSQL is a relational database service that's powered by the PostgreSQL community edition.
  • Power BI is a collection of software services, apps, and connectors that work together to turn your unrelated sources of data into coherent, visually immersive, and interactive insights.

Scenario details

This solution is a basic example of a three-tier application on Azure:

  • The presentation tier consists of a web app or browser and a mobile app.
  • In the application tier, App Service provides the logic and computing power for the application.
  • In the data tier, Azure Database for PostgreSQL offers a fully managed OSS database.

Power BI, which supports native connectivity with PostgreSQL, provides data analytics in this solution.

Potential use cases

You can use this solution to manage financial data. The architecture also applies to various other use cases, including retail, education, and travel scenarios.

Contributors

This article is maintained by Microsoft. It was originally written by the following contributors.

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