Cisco and Microsoft have announced that Microsoft Azure Stack will be offered on Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS) in Q3 2017. Cisco promotes UCS as a solution that helps users simplify open cloud development, tackle graphics-intensive apps, and unlock the hidden value in their data.
Azure Stack enables public cloud services to run inside a company´s own data-center, providing the ability to maintain total control via a hybrid cloud infrastructure. With Azure Stack it will be possible to decide where to keep data and applications hosted: On Microsoft Azure in the public cloud or on-premises resources using a private cloud.
A flexible hybrid cloud solution
Cisco explains in the announcement that, “by combining Microsoft’s robust Azure cloud platform with Cisco’s UCS server platform, customers gain a powerful, cloud-ready solution.”
Microsoft’s Azure Stack team writes that “[bringing together Azure Stack and Cisco’s UCS platform] enables you to focus on delivering high quality service levels for business applications rather than focusing on infrastructure management.”
Some of the key benefits of Microsoft Azure Stack on Cisco UCS include:
- “Provides accelerated growth and innovation for enterprise customers and service providers looking to grow their businesses quickly with an efficient and flexible cloud consumption model. Service providers can deliver Cisco-Azure infrastructure as-a-service (Iaas) and platform-as-a-service (Paas).
- Builds on the industry leading Fabric-based UCS architecture featuring High-Performance Networking with the versatile Cisco Virtual Interface Card that is optimized for Azure Stack.
- Simplifies management and control by providing a single pane of glass for managing Compute, Azure Stack Optimized Adapter and Networking through policy based templates thus reducing the Total Cost of Ownership for joint customers.
- Increases confidence and trust with an IT environment supported by Cisco and Microsoft – proven innovators and market leaders in hybrid cloud infrastructures.
- Enables management of cloud actions with Cisco ONE Enterprise Cloud Suite Cloud Management package to automate deployment and management of applications across 20 hybrid cloud environments including Microsoft Azure Stack.
- Connects everything through Cisco enterprise networks which preserves policy to ensure performance and security.”