NTT Communications is expected to deliver a managed Microsoft Azure stack solution to the Singapore market by the third quarter of 2018, following a similar launch in Hong Kong.
In allowing providers to build their own versions of Azure in private data centres, the offering has been billed as Microsoft’s secret weapon in the battle of the cloud giants.
Channel Asia understands that end-users can now engage with NTT in Singapore, in advance of the rollout during the later part of the year.
“We are pleased to share with you that Singapore customers can talk to NTT Communications directly for the proof-of-concept,” a spokesperson for NTT Communications told Channel Asia. “And the Singapore launch is scheduled for Q3 2018 tentatively.”
The local news follows the technology provider’s launch in Hong Kong, which aims to combine managed services capabilities with Microsoft cloud technologies.
Specifically, the offering will centre around Global Management One (GMOne), a solution NTT hopes will provide ease of use for enterprise organisations during hybrid cloud migrations and deployment.
From a technology standpoint, the joint solution provides enterprises with end-to-end services from hardware, data centre, connectivity and multiple cloud applications migration, alongside security to tenant management with centralised support.
“As a Microsoft Azure Stack early adopter and Gold Cloud Platform partner, we are confident this game-changing technology will help smooth and speed business transformation,” NTT Communications chief revenue officer of Asia, Stephen Tsang, said.
“With our expertise in managed services, ICT infrastructure and security, we help companies to fully integrate, customise and manage their complex hybrid IT ecosystem.
“Enterprises can now rest assured and seize the opportunities of the new digital economy.”
According to Tsang, Hong Kong is expected to see the strongest growth in Azure Stack adoption (61 per cent), followed by Malaysia and Singapore at 51 per cent and 49 per cent respectively.
Furthermore, the rollout will leverage the provider’s global footprint of data centres and networks, coupled with a single contract and one service-level agreement (SLA) through GMOne managed services.
“Tapping into the managed services capabilities of NTT Communications, Azure Stack can deliver a fuller and more consistent integration of hybrid cloud deployments, allowing enterprises to respond rapidly to ever-changing business requirements with needed resources,” Microsoft Hong Kong director of One Commercial Partner, Serena Cheung, added.
“CIOs no longer need to worry about the day-to-day management responsibilities and operations.
“The solution also ensures compliance with specific regulatory requirements while delivering agility, cost optimisation and increased competitiveness for businesses.”
Unveiled during the opening day of Microsoft Inspire in July 2017, Redmond delivered the first release version of Azure Stack to hardware partners, with Dell EMC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo on board early, and Cisco and Huawei following suit.
In providing servers and equipment required to run the services, the hardware partners shipped the first systems to customers in September 2017.
“Throughout the technical previews, we’ve seen tremendous customer and partner excitement around Microsoft Azure Stack,” Microsoft corporate vice president of Azure infrastructure and management Mike Neil said at the time of launch.
“Our partners are excited about the new business opportunities opened up by our ‘One Azure Ecosystem’ approach, which helps them extend their Azure investments to Azure stack, to unlock new possible for hybrid could environments.”
Singapore
Singapore ranks highly in cloud adoption and innovation, moving up to the sixth position globally in 2018, compared to the seventh place in 2016 according to the 2018 Global Cloud Computing Scorecard from The Software Alliance.
Enterprises in Singapore continue to innovate and adopt cloud solutions to improve their agility and scalability. In 2017,
For example, in 2017, DBS Bank, known for its digital innovation and ranked as Asia’s safest bank for nine consecutive years, partnered with data centre provider, Equinix to transform one of its traditional data centres in Singapore into a cloud-optimised centre.
The result of this was a new centre that was 75 per cent cheaper to run with the improved cloud infrastructure increasing the bank’s ability to be more agile and scalable as data continues to increase.
Furthermore, DBS leverages Microsoft’s cloud-based productivity suite, Office 365, to increase workforce productivity.
According to a recent research report from 451 Research indicates that the key barriers for enterprises’ to adopt a hybrid cloud solution include difficulties in managing data security; the operational complexity of managing multiple cloud platforms; inability to migrate legacy IT and business applications; and inconsistency of formats in private/public cloud.
