UPDATED 23:27 EST / JULY 06 2017

CLOUD

Microsoft beefs up Azure cloud in UK with software container service and more

As one of the world’s biggest public cloud computing providers, Microsoft Corp. has an expansive global reach. But not everyone is aware that the company’s cloud service offerings differ quite substantially depending on where in the world you’re located.

Most of its newer services are made available to North American customers first, before being rolled out to other countries several weeks or months later on down the line. But on Wednesday Microsoft departed from that norm, announcing the availability of a new cloud container management feature in the U.K. Azure region before any others.

“The UK region is the first Azure region featuring Docker Swarm mode instead of legacy Swarm,” Andres Juarez, a Microsoft principal program manager, said in a statement.

Docker Inc. first announced Docker Swarm back in 2014, describing it as a container clustering technology that enables the rapid deployment of multiple container-based applications. Docker Swarm Mode meanwhile, was added to Docker 1.12 in June 2016, and enables more agile DevOps and the ability to deploy cloud-based apps even faster.

“Simplified configurations of proven open source container orchestration technology, optimized to run in the Azure cloud, are provided,” Juarez said of the Azure Container Service. “In just a few clicks, customers can deploy in production container-based applications, and on a framework designed to help manage the complexity of containers deployed at scale.”

Microsoft also revealed a number of new services for Azure’s U.K. customers that were previously not available in the region. These include a preview of its SQL Data Sync service that allows for data to be synchronized across multiple SQL databases or SQL server instances.

The company also announced availability of its SQL Threat Detection Service, which is an added layer of security intelligence that monitors database activity in real-time, looking for things like access attempts from unknown networks and other attack indicators. Meanwhile, Managed Disks Storage Service Encryption is another security-enhancing service that lets users apply at-rest encryption to data stored in Azure.

Other new U.K. services include Log Analytics, part of Microsoft’s Operations Management Suite, which lets users monitor the performance and availability of hybrid cloud environments more easily, and Logic Apps, which provides a way to simplify and implement scalable integrations and workflows in the cloud. Finally, Microsoft has also turned on its Azure Stream Analytics service, which enables the analysis of Internet of Things data in real time.

Image: D.Begley/Flickr

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