Inspire 2022: Microsoft shares key Azure cloud announcements

Inspire 2022, Microsoft’s annual partner-focused event is here. Microsoft highlighted some of the key takeaways for the Azure community. Cloud adoption soared during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 72 percent of organizations reporting that the pandemic accelerated their digital transformation. Security, compliance, and data privacy are top of mind, along with a desire for partner support, according to Microsoft data.

So far, Microsoft has enrolled over 500 partners in the Azure Migration and Modernization Program, encompassing focus areas in apps, data management, and infrastructure. To expand this program, Microsoft announced 2.5 times larger incentives for Windows Server and SQL Server migrations, new best practice guides for Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure and Azure Well Architected Framework, as well as modernization capabilities that allow ISVs to better integrate IP.

Because of the scale of opportunities in SaaS, Microsoft is previewing the ISV Success Program. It shared recent successes helping Walgreens access transactional data.

Modernizing apps is a major area of opportunity, which was part of what prompted Microsoft to create the Intelligent Data Platform announced at Build 2022. Similarly, workload migration continues to present extensive opportunities for partners. To support migrations, Microsoft touted its new release of Stack HCI, the Arc Boost Program with Intel to speed deployments of Arc and Stack HCI in hybrid environments, the preview of Azure Center for SAP Solutions, and generally available Confidential Computing. Microsoft encouraged partners to work with customers using SQL Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 to migrate before the end of service for both offerings.

For partners with especially lofty goals, Microsoft shared the details of its Azure Space Partner program. Partners in the program will have access to train, roadmaps under NDA, reference architectures, onboarding ...