Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) just launched public cloud service in China. The company teamed up with Chinese data service provider 21Vianet, which likely pleased Beijing officials.
Microsoft brings Windows Azure to China
This makes Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) the first multinational company to provide public cloud service inside the Middle Kingdom. This is a big deal for the tech giant which is struggling to keep up with top competitors.
Microsoft’s vice president of cloud and enterprise marketing Takeshi Numoto summed up his thoughts about 21Vianet: “21Vianet is a trusted and reliable partner who can deliver the quality and reliability that Microsoft Azure customers require, delivering Azure service from multiple locations in China to enable critical disaster recovery scenarios. In fact, 21Vianet has already delivered fully functional cloud services to more than 3,000 customers in China, including CNTV, LineKong, GMW.cn and Coca-Cola China.”
Nearly a year ago, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reportedly trained and certified over 100 21Net employees to use the Azure platform. Under specific terms, the US-based company was allowed to only offer support, access, and troubleshooting. Windows Azure was designed specifically for businesses that want a cloud service they can trust. The tech giant offers a service that allows users to instantly store Virtual Machines for Windows or Linux, infrastructure, and applications around the world. It also allows users to develop outstanding applications. Businesses can create solutions utilizing .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Ruby, and Python.
Azure’s strong presence in the cloud market
Over half of Fortune 500 companies use Windows Azure including Toyota, BMW Latin America, Herbalife, and Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO of the Greater China Region and corporate vice president Ralph Haupter proclaimed, “As a result of the successful relationship with 21Vianet and the positive feedback from customers, it’s clear that Microsoft Azure has exceeded earlier expectations. Microsoft Azure’s enterprise-grade benefits such as flexibility, reliability, scalability, openness, cost efficiency and fast deployment were well received by Chinese customers. With this launch, Microsoft continues to contribute to the development of the cloud computing market and ecosystem throughout China.”
We can expect more great things from Microsoft Azure in the near future.
