[Press Release] Liquid Telecom Expands Availability of Microsoft Azure in Africa

Azure across its pan-African network, approaching 70,000km and stretching via a direct terrestrial high-speed fibre link across the continent.

Liquid Telecom brings cloud-optimised connectivity offering the benefits of low latency, high capacity and resiliency to businesses across Africa.  With the availability of Microsoft’s Azure regions in South Africa and using local Microsoft Azure Stack deployments in Liquid Telecom’s African data centres connected via Microsoft ExpressRoute, customers are able to access a hybrid cloud solution residing within the African continent.

This scale-out of the Microsoft cloud-based architecture offers customers across the African continent greater opportunities for agility, security, and compliance. It also offers increased efficiencies and improved performance for business and public sector organisations operating in Africa, but also multi-nationals with a presence in Africa.

As a result of the availability of the new Azure cloud regions, SME’s, enterprises, public sector organisations and multi-nationals with a presence in Africa will have access to globally available services with local data residency and the benefits of low latency, high local capacity built upon Microsoft’s trusted cloud principles of security, privacy, compliance, transparency and reliability.

“We are delighted by the launch of Microsoft’s cloud regions in Africa, and by extending the reach of Microsoft Azure to an increasing number of countries and customers, Liquid Telecom is helping Africa realise its digital future,” said Nic Rudnick, Group CEO, Liquid Telecom. “We offer customers a single, unified solution for their Microsoft Azure strategy. This is underpinned by an unrivalled fibre network, strategically located data centres, a hybrid cloud architecture covering Azure and the Azure Stack and an ExpressRoute connection to maximise the benefits of the cloud. Together, Microsoft and Liquid Telecom are creating a modern business foundation for customers in Africa – one that inspires innovation, cloud-paced change, compliance and business growth.”

Liquid Telecom customers will benefit from the company’s forward-thinking ecosystem: world-class data centres, connected via a pan-African fibre network approaching 70,000km; offering the Microsoft Azure Stack hybrid cloud in five countries in Africa; and the company’s position as a Microsoft Tier I and Tier II Cloud Solution Provider. A private, high-performance CloudConnect via Microsoft ExpressRoute, together with Liquid Telecom’s expert cloud enablement services, also enable customers to accelerate their cloud deployment and achieve faster time to value.

“This availability of Microsoft Azure, delivered from cloud regions in South Africa, answers the call from customers across Africa for a truly modern and hybrid cloud,” said Dean Erasmus, Azure Business Lead for Africa, Microsoft. “It enables customers across the continent to simplify IT implementation and reap the benefits associated with cloud operating models, either hosted or delivered on-premise. Liquid Telecom is a trusted partner of Microsoft with the breadth of their fibre network, data centre infrastructure, market reach and expertise to enable customers to realise their business objectives more quickly and effectively.”

The Liquid Telecom ecosystem brings cloud services in Africa together, offering customers a one-stop solution for cloud computing, connectivity, and professional services through Microsoft Azure and Azure Stack. Liquid Telecom now provides this modern hybrid cloud services in five countries – South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda  – with more regions scheduled to go live later including the Middle East, North and West Africa. Key facts:

• Expansive, cloud-ready connectivity: Liquid Telecom has built Africa’s largest independent fibre network approaching 70,000km, running from the Cape to Cairo – covering most of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.
• Award-winning data centre infrastructure: Designed, built and operated to the highest standards, Liquid Telecom’s network of data centres provides customers with scalable and secure cloud services. They also act as a one-stop shop for data centre solutions across the continent and a local data centre resource for all private, secure hybrid cloud needs.
• CloudConnect for Microsoft ExpressRoute: Microsoft ExpressRoute, part of Liquid Telecom’s CloudConnect offering, allows customers to establish flexible, private connections to Azure for better performance, tighter security and lower latency. Liquid Telecom is providing ExpressRoute service across eight African countries on its own fibre. CloudConnect also delivers additional direct connection products to other global and local African providers, facilitating flexible hybrid cloud solutions.
• Innovation partnerships: Emerging African start-ups have access to this Liquid Telecom infrastructure to support the new generation of innovators and become tomorrow’s technology leaders. For example, Liquid Telecom provides free internet to Nairobi Garage’s Entrepreneurship Centre, supporting up to 300 co-workers with free high-speed fibre connectivity.

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