Microsoft Azure Ups Secure Mobility in Mobile First Cloud First World

Summary: Microsoft Azure ups secure mobility as an ongoing game changer in Microsoft's mobile first, cloud first worldview.

Microsoft envisions Azure as a universal cloud, receptive to all apps and developers: James van den Berg @JamesvandenBerg, via Twitter Nov. 18, 2015

In Microsoft’s mobile first, cloud first worldview, Microsoft Azure ups secure mobility as the cloud computing platform and infrastructure caters to enterprise mobility management, the tech industry’s fast-growing category, via government, hybrid, private and public clouds run on a worldwide network of Microsoft-managed datacenters.

“The two trends of Cloud and Mobility are working together to drive innovation forward at a rate we have never seen before,” notes Brad Anderson, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Enterprise Client and Mobility (ECM) team, in his in-depth keynote speech Nov. 16, 2015, day one of Microsoft Ignite Australia 2015.

Azure’s cloud platforms offer government, hybrid, private and public configurations that increase mobility by extending perimeters for client data. Security is essential to successful mobility. Microsoft’s launch of Azure Government as a standalone version of Azure recognizes the rigorous compliance certifications required for U.S. public agency cloud platforms.

“As professionals, everything you do has to be secure. Security is by far and away the number one concern for organisations around the world,” emphasizes Brad Anderson in his Microsoft Ignite Australia 2015 keynote speech.

Microsoft pinpoints identity management as the driving force behind both mobility and security. Identity management is critical to extending mobility and security perimeters.

“Security has to be natively built in to every app, every operating system, to every transaction, to everything that we do because you never know on what device transactions will be happening, the data that will be accessed and where in the world the data is,” notes Brad Anderson.

Azure’s current presence in 22 regions around the world is expected to increase soon, with announced plans for five additional regions (Canada Central in Toronto, Canada East in Quebec City, Germany Central in Frankfurt, Germany Northeast in Magdeburg and United Kingdom in a to-be-announced location).

The launching of Microsoft Azure Australia in 2014 epitomizes the global applicability of Microsoft’s mobile first, cloud first world approach to secure mobility. Brad Anderson points out that in the year since launching of Microsoft Azure Australia, Azure platforms have exhibited a fourfold increase in number of organizational users.

“50 percent of the enterprise organisations in Australia are now using Azure, and it is interesting if you look at the actual revenue on Azure, 40 percent of all the revenue is coming from startups, SMBs [Server Message Blocks] and ISVs [Independent Software Vendors],” Anderson notes.

Opened on Monday, Oct. 27, 2014, Microsoft Azure Australia manages two data centers, one in Sydney, New South Wales, and the other in Melbourne, Victoria, for local hosting of cloud services. Each data center building approximates a rugby field in size, and each offers sufficient space for 16 data centers and 160,000 servers. Currently available in 140 countries, including China, Azure supports 24 currencies and ten languages.

In a 2015 recap Dec. 14 on his blog, In the Cloud, Brad Anderson emphasizes secure mobility as primary concerns for Microsoft: “Everything we have built focuses on using enterprise mobility as a strategic security asset.”

As Microsoft Azure ups secure mobility as an ongoing game changer, Microsoft continues to refine cloud-based solutions and to enjoy customer appreciation. “This progress has really resonated with customers -- over 20,000 of them, in fact,” notes Brad Anderson in his Dec. 14 blog posting.

Brad Anderson, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Enterprise Client and Mobility (ECM) team, recaps 2015 as focusing on security mobility as a "strategic security asset": Microsoft Azure @microsoftazure, via Facebook Aug. 23, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Microsoft envisions Azure as a universal cloud, receptive to all apps and all developers: James van den Berg @JamesvandenBerg, via Twitter Nov. 18, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/JamesvandenBerg/status/667060363876265984

Brad Anderson, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Enterprise Client and Mobility (ECM) team, recaps 2015 as focusing on security mobility as a "strategic security asset": Microsoft Azure @microsoftazure, via Facebook Aug. 23, 2015, available @ https://www.facebook.com/microsoftazure/photos/a.10150661442591956/10152985751156956/

For further information:

BradAnderson. "Architecture Matters: Protecting Data in a Mobile First, Cloud First World." Enterprise Mobility and Security Blog. Feb. 18, 2015.
Available @ https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/enterprisemobility/2015/02/18/architecture-matters-protecting-data-in-a-mobile-first-cloud-first-world/

Brad Anderson‏ @Anderson. "Cloud one of the top Tech Trends for 2016 - IDC predicts will account for 46% of Enterprise IT infra spend by 2019." Twitter. Dec. 31, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Anderson/status/682494867877003264

Chanthadavong, Aimee. "Microsoft Azure Australia open for business." ZDNet. Oct. 27, 2014.
Available @ http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-azure-australia-open-for-business/

Chanthadavong, Aimee. "Microsoft hones focus on enterprise mobility and security with Azure." ZDNet. Nov. 17, 2015.
Available @ http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-hones-focus-in-on-enterprise-mobility-and-security-with-azure/

Herskowitz, Nicole. "Azure: The cloud for any app and every developer." Microsoft Azure > Blog > Announcements. Nov. 18, 2015.
Available @ https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-the-cloud-for-any-app-and-every-developer/

James van den Berg‏ @JamesvandenBerg. "#Microsoft Azure: The #cloud for any app and every #developer." Twitter. Nov. 18, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/JamesvandenBerg/status/667060363876265984

Microsoft Australia. "Microsoft Ignite Australia 2015: Day 1 Wrap-Up." YouTube. Nov. 17, 2015.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=bHqSq0nTRD0

Microsoft Azure @microsoftazure. "Updated their cover photo." Facebook. Aug. 23, 2015.
Availabe @ https://www.facebook.com/microsoftazure/photos/a.10150661442591956/10152985751156956/

Player, Chris. "Microsoft Ignite 2015: Keynote 'We are a Cloud first company.'" ARN. Nov. 19, 2015.
Available @ http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/589259/microsoft-ignite-2015-keynote-we-cloud-first-company/