Microsoft To Partner With Governments Over Its Azure Cloud Services

Private tech companies are known for being fond of the government. It’s just a fact that they don’t get along, especially when Big Brother tries sticking its fingers where tech giants don’t want the digits being. However, Microsoft is attempting to buck the trend by offering its Azure Cloud Computing services to the government, allowing them to run using on-site servers.

The announcement was made by Microsoft on Monday, CNBC reports, saying that it will soon be possible for government agencies to run its cloud service using their own computer servers. This is an attempt to make Azure more appealing to government agencies, both at the local and federal level.

Amazon has been ramping up its efforts to try and corner the market of cloud computing services, and this move by Microsoft is considered a way to address the increasingly stiff competition. The service that the software giant is trying to offer is a combination of its Azure Stacks and Azure Government packages that are specifically tailored for government use.

Microsoft intends to make the service available in the middle of the year, targeting specific government bodies that have specialized needs when it comes to cloud computing. As the head of the global infrastructure of Azure at Microsoft, Tom Keane told the publication, the service was designed with very specific clients in mind.

"Quite literally we've designed Azure Stack with the scenario of a submarine in mind," he said.

As ZDNet notes, this particular service is separate from what the civilian and private companies have access to. The new service is basically just to allow a more isolated and more secure means of government agencies to use the Cloud while storing all of the sensitive data in a place where only they can get to. It’s a win-win scenario that Microsoft is banking on to give it an edge in the Cloud wars.