Dell EMC Prepares Azure Stack Hybrid Cloud Launch For Second Half Of 2017

Dell EMC has strengthened its partnership with Microsoft with the launch of a platform that makes it easier to deploy a hybrid cloud based on Azure Stack.

Azure Stack essentially lets customers benefit from the Azure public cloud platform, complete with the regular updates and new features delivered by Microsoft, but on custom hardware in a data centre of their choice.

It has the support of several manufacturers, including HPE, and of course Dell EMC, which is planning to unleash its platform in the second half of 2017.

With the catchy name of ‘Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack’, the platform provides businesses with an autoamted way of deploying  traditional and cloud-native applications in Azure. It complements other Dell EMC turnkey platforms such as its Enterprise Hybrid Cloud offering and Dell EMC Native Hybrid Cloud.

Hybrid platform

“Cloud is an operating model, not a place, and adopting a hybrid model has become the clear choice,” said Peter Cutts, senior vice president of hybrid cloud platforms at Dell EMC.

“Making hybrid cloud platforms simple and turnkey enables businesses to rapidly develop and deploy new applications, optimise resources, control costs and deliver the best possible customer experiences.”

Mike Neil, head of enterprise cloud at Microsoft, said that the move continues the “longtime alliance” between Dell and Microsoft.

He added: “With Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack, our shared customers have the support and solutions to enable them to be more efficient and innovative with a best-in-class, hybrid cloud platform.”

The world of cloud has quickly become a complex one for organisations, with many businesses favouring a mix of providers and infrastructure types of provide agility and suit their own specific needs.

Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack attempts to cater to this need by delivering consistently across both Azure public and private cloud, with a consistent programming surface between Azure and Azure Stack speeding up application development and deployment.

Furthermore, data protection and security is provided by Dell EMC’s backup and encryption technology, with a range of other services available throughout the implementation journey.

The announcement comes just a few days before the start of Dell EMC World 2017, around eight months since the completion of the record-breaking $60 billion (£45bn) merger between the two companies.

At last year’s conference, Dell CEO Michael Dell declared that “everyone is on a journey to hybrid cloud”, while also asserting that the combination of Dell and EMC will enable digital transformation better than anyone else in the market.

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