Microsoft has failed to meet up with a self-induced time limit to launch two Azure cloud data centres – one in Johannesburg and the other in Cape Town South Africa in 2018. However, the company said it will be unveiled this year.
According to TechCentral, there are reports stating that Microsoft cancelled its plans to launch the facilities as a result of the inability of a third-party supplier to deliver to specification. There is a possibility that Microsoft could launch the Azure facilities in the first quarter of 2019, a source familiar with the situation told TechCentral.
Microsoft had announced on May 21, 2017, that it plans to build the data centres — the first Azure facilities in Africa. Then, it said that the early availability of the Microsoft Cloud, delivered directly from the local data centres, would kick off in 2018 and would provide Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics 365 services to local customers.
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Work is progressing at the data centres, Ashleigh Fenwick, a spokeswoman for Microsoft South Africa, told TechCentral. But she said the company can’t share a detailed update on the progress or exactly when the services will be launched commercially.
“We’re focused on building the right solutions for our customers and are working towards availability of our new enterprise-grade cloud data centres in South Africa in 2019,” Fenwick said, adding that Microsoft is building an “unprecedented level of infrastructure” locally.