Optus fires up Azure clone for Australia

Cloud strategy coming real soon now says telco

Australia's second-largest telco, Optus, has hopped aboard Microsoft's cloudwagon by flicking the switch on its own Azure service.

The Optus Managed Cloud has been given the Azure Pack treatment, meaning Optus is now a member of the Microsoft Cloud OS Network of providers that can offer cloud based on Microsoft's platform.

Membership of that club means one's cloud can operate as either a standalone Azure clone or link with Microsoft's own cloudy kit. Or both.

However a network member does it, the idea is that a local company like Optus can provide personal care and attention while also offering a platform that is extensible.

Optus acquired its Azure-hued capabilities along with Ensyst, an outfit it slurped late in 2014. Enyst was already a prominent Microsoft partner so this isn't an entirely new service. We're told that since the acquisition Ensyst's services have been clutched to Optus' bosom, so are now running in its own bit barns.

The new-ish service sets up an interesting competitive tension, because Optus' rival and Australia's dominant carrier Telstra has just thrown in its lot with VMware's vCloud Air. Telstra also offers ExpressRoute connections to Microsoft's Australian Azure bit barns and resells Office 365 client and server products.

Optus' announcement of its Azure services says it will outline more of its “broader Cloud strategy” in late May. ®