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Microsoft bins Azure Blockchain without explanation, gives users four months to move

Says picking a replacement is your next step. Seriously, that’s Redmond's first piece of advice. Eventually it recommends Quorum

Microsoft has announced the imminent death of its Azure Blockchain service.

A support document dated May 10 delivered the news as follows:

On September 10, 2021, Azure Blockchain will be retired. Please migrate ledger data from Azure Blockchain Service to an alternative offering based on your development status in production or evaluation.

The document offers no explanation for Microsoft’s decision.

But it does offer some hints and tips for what to do next (after you finish cursing the beast of Redmond for pulling the rug out from under your cloud-hosted blockchain on four months’ notice.)

However, that advice is likely to get you cursing again because it opens:

The first step when planning a migration is to evaluate alternative offerings. Evaluate the following alternatives based on your development status of being in production or evaluation.

Whaaaat? Buyers should survey the market for the products they need? Thanks, Microsoft. We wouldn’t have figured that out without your wise counsel.

Microsoft’s document eventually recommends the Quorum Blockchain Service from ConsenSys as a very fine replacement because it uses the GoQuorum Ledger technology that Azure's Blockchain uses too. Unsurprisingly, Quorum is also right at home in Azure. So even after Microsoft causes you considerable inconvenience, it still wants your cash.

As noted above, Microsoft hasn’t explained the reason for the demise of its cloudy blockchain service. In The Register’s experience, the reason is usually a lack of customers, reliance on old infrastructure that Microsoft doesn’t want to replace nor maintain, or a combination of the two. ®

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