Azure Updates: Australian cloud growth; Customer migrations; Lab Services

New data from ISG suggests that government agencies and enterprises in Australia are rapidly migrating to the cloud, with more growth expected over the next five years. 2022 ISG Provider Lens Microsoft Ecosystem Partners report found Australian enterprises that already use Azure are focusing on app driven modernization and greater adoption of Microsoft 365. Due to Covid-19 Australia has seen a significant shift to remote and hybrid work. There are also increased efforts to realign legacy apps and leverage data for machine learning and AI insights.

“Many Australian companies are already mature cloud adopters. They are now gearing up to migrate complex applications like SAP to the public cloud,” stated Scott Bertsch, partner and regional leader, ISG Asia Pacific.

CVP Zia Monsor touted new Microsoft investments to improve customer migrations to Azure. For instance, Azure includes free Extended Security Updates for SQL Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2. Monsor noted up to 85 percent cost savings with Hybrid Benefit, Microsoft’s Azure Migration and Modernization  Program, and wide-ranging management capabilities with Arc, Automanage, and Windows Admin Center. Monsor wrote:

Security is foundational for Azure. If your company is running SQL Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012/2012 R2, this is the time to consider assessing those environments as they reach the end of support on July 12, 2022 and October 10, 2023 respectively. Not having support means the end of security updates, which may leave your business exposed to security risks and compliance concerns. Azure offers three years of extended security updates…Multilayered security is provided across physical datacenters, infrastructure, and operations with cyber security experts actively monitoring to protect your Windows Server and SQL Server, including in hybrid deployments with Azure Arc.