Microsoft Commits to Canadian Cloud Service

On June 2, 2015 Microsoft issued a press release announcing plans to deliver Microsoft Cloud services from datacenters in Quebec and Toronto, Canada. The commercial services which will be locally deployed include Azure, Office 365 and Dynamic CRM Online. Canadian businesses and government organizations will now have the opportunity to benefit from the flexibility and cost savings cloud services can provide. According to Kevin Turner, Worldwide Chief Operating Officer for Microsoft, this investment by Microsoft demonstrates their commitment to making the Microsoft Cloud, “Truly Canadian”.

With this investment Microsoft is strengthening their position in Canada’s very competitive cloud landscape. Over 80,000 Canadian businesses, businesses of all sizes, have a cloud presence, Microsoft currently delivers cloud based e-mail, Office 365 and CRM Online to Canadian companies such as Hatch, Quebecor, and Air Canada. IDC reports the totals spending by public cloud users is estimated to increase by $2.5 Billion dollars next year alone. Investment in public cloud infrastructure is expected to increase 45% by 2016.

Access to locally deployed services is a key consideration for organizations required to adhere to strict data storage compliance codes and other data residency regulations. Janet Kennedy, President of Microsoft Canada, states that Microsoft addresses these concerns by delivering cloud services directly from data centers on Canadian soil, allowing Microsoft to deliver hyper-scale, enterprise grade services to Canadian businesses and governments. Cloud services such as Office 365, Yammer and Skype for Business, can be a cost effective way to empower employees to collaborate, increase productivity and increase mobility. According to Christopher Taylor, Global Director with Hatch, Microsoft, the company’s practice of utilizing information systems and technology has given the company a marketplace advantage and “…our use of Microsoft
Cloud is an integral part of this success”.

Ontario-based start-up Diply.com is a terrific example of a company utilizing Microsoft’s c
loud based infrastructure, in this case Microsoft Azure. The company owns no servers yet delivers 850 million page views per month. Gary Manning, CTO and co-founder at Diply.com says, “We only pay for what we use”. He states that with a cost of only $0.07 per user using the Microsoft Cloud service, it’s impractical for Diply to construct the back-end infrastructure themselves.

Governments in Canada also welcome the Microsoft Cloud to Canada, enabling Canadian businesses to compete globally. Ontario’s Deputy Premiere and President of Treasury Board, Deb Mathews says that Ontario is “thrilled” Microsoft chose to invest in Ontario and establish one of the first Microsoft Cloud datacenters in the City, and that Microsoft is providing Ontario businesses and organizations with the technology to compete globally by working better, smarter, and more efficiently.

John Tory, Mayor of Toronto also praised the announcement and recognized this as a significant addition to Toronto’s existing digital infrastructure. According to Tory, the City is committed to investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure conducive to attracting good jobs to a skilled and talented work force and fueling innovation. An estimated 14,000 jobs are connected to cloud computing in Toronto.

More information about Microsoft in Canada can be found at reimagine.microsoft.ca