Azure On-Premises Coming Soon

Yesterday at Microsoft’s Ignite conference, the Redmond company announced a new iteration of the Azure cloud platform that will turn the keys of data center control over to the customer. Called Azure Stack, this version of the service will bring the same PaaS (Platform as a Service) and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) tools available on public cloud to private, on-premises servers for the first time.

Making this software will mark an important turn for the cloud computing industry, as Azure Stack will be the first major cloud service to made available for private use. As of yet, Amazon and Google have not offered similar options, though this recent announcement could turn the tide of this trend.

As a hybrid-ready cloud platform, Azure Stack will seamlessly integrate into organizations running other Windows Server versions, such as 2008 and 2012. such an offering would give organizations greater control over their data and flexibility in managing it. Being a private cloud system, businesses would be granted new opportunities centralize their network over great distance (unifying east and west coast office, for example).

While the private cloud service will not be made immediately available for purchase, businesses can expect the Azure stack release date to be “sometime in summer 2015.” So with a few months to go before this launch, there is no better time than now to begin making preparations.

On July 14th, for example, support for Windows Server 2003 will end, requiring many businesses to find a suitable replacement. While public Azure cloud makes for a fine alternative due to minimal investment in physical hardware, those who require their data to remain on-premises will fine Azure Stack to be a desirable alternative. In addition to keeping support from Microsoft and their partners, businesses will enjoy the leading-edge in server technology as well as all the benefits the cloud has to offer.

If the prospect of a self hosted Azure cloud is of interest to you and you would like to learn more, please reach out to us with your questions! We’re happy to lend you our ear and expertise.