<p> <i> 21.31 pm </i> Microsoft launches cloud programme for Indian enterprises

 Microsoft has announced the launch of Cloud Accelerator Programme for Indian enterprises and government. The new Cloud Accelerator programme will serve as a catalyst to accelerate the adoption of Microsoft Azure and Office 365 cloud services amongst enterprises and government organisations.

Announcing this at 2015 Microsoft Azure Conference in Pune, Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman, Microsoft India, said, “This will help organisations to not only plan local cloud roadmaps, but also increase compliance with local regulations.”

As announced during Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's visit to India last year, three Microsoft Azure data centres will be going live by end of calendar year 2015. The largest will be in Pune, though Pramanik refused to identify the other two locations or investments being on the data centre, only pointing to the global capex spend of $4.5 billion on 19 data centres. The new Cloud Accelerator Programme is also part of Microsoft's vision of being a productivity and platforms company in a cloud-first and mobile-first world.

Pramanik added that of India's IT pie of around $50 billion, cloud today accounted for around $400 million but with very fast growth rates. He claimed that many companies, were moving significant workloads to the cloud, giving the example of Fortis Hospitals which is shutting down its data centres and moving all core systems including hospital information systems, accounts and billing to the Microsoft Azure public cloud.

“We are investing to provide cloud services from local datacentres to help government, BFSI, state-owned enterprises and other regulated industries to take full advantage of the cloud.  The Cloud Accelerator Programme is designed to help India move to the cloud, and in turn, help ‘Make in India’ a reality. This will open up new possibilities in e-governance, financial inclusion, healthcare, and education to positively impact the lives of a billion people,” he added.

And recognising that open software loads play a key part in the cloud, Mark Hill, Microsoft's Global Vice President of Open Source Marketing & Sales said that Balaji Kesavaraj has been appointed open source lead for Microsoft India as part of Hill's team. According to Hill, 22 percent of volume on Azure processing already comes from Linux and Microsoft expects this to increase significantly.

More than 15 Microsoft partners including HCL, Wipro and Tech Mahindra will be part of the roll out of the Cloud Accelerator Programme in India. More partners will come on board with new offerings over the coming months.

In addition, Microsoft has launched cloud training programmes - Azure Vidyapeeth and GuruVarta, for partners that will enable SMBs transition to the cloud. The programme will train partners to help 10,000 SMBs across 250 cities to move to the cloud.

The company also announced the launch of a ‘Cloud Decision Framework’ for public sector companies, government departments, banks, and financial services companies. The independent, open framework builds on international ISO standards and incorporates India-specific guidelines from IRDA, IDRBT and the IT Act.

“Cloud is real in India today. With the Cloud Accelerator Program, we and our partners will be able to move thousands of customers to the cloud over the next few months,” added Karan Bajwa, managing director, Microsoft India.

Microsoft is witnessing rapid growth in cloud adoption in India and across the world.  In the quarter ending December 2014, Microsoft’s commercial cloud revenue grew 114 percent globally.  This was driven by Office 365, Microsoft Azure and Dynamics CRM Online.</p>