Azure suitable for start-ups, says Microsoft

Microsoft is supporting start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises in Uganda with Azure, its cloud-computing platform, and officials say the service is free.

By Maurice Okore

Microsoft is supporting start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises in Uganda with Azure, its cloud-computing platform, and officials say the service is free.

Ivan Lumala,the Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft 4afrika Initiative said Azure cloud service is an impressive solution for every African who has a great idea for a business or an application that they need to deploy but have no resources to do so.

Microsoft Azure is an open and flexible cloud platform that enables users to quickly build, deploy and manage applications across a global network of data centres. It serves businesses of all sizes in two categories, namely infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS).

"The goal is to empower every African who has a great idea for a business or an application and to turn that idea into a reality which in turn can help their community, their country, or even the continent at large," Lumala said in an interview on the sidelines of Connected East Africa, the inaugural Regional summit in Mombasa.

"Azure provides an open, broad and flexible platform and applications can be developed using a broad set of programming languages: Net to Java, PHP, Python, Ruby, Node.js, Hadoop."

Lumala said Microsoft's support of Startups is a perfect illustration of the companies commitment to promote new ideas born in Africa with the potential to change the world.

He said besides cloud computing tools, Microsoft also offers technical support and mentorship to startups with great ideas.

4Afrika is a strategic initiative to help Africa become more connected. By 2016, Microsoft wants to get millions of smart devices in the hands of African youth, get one million African businesses online, and help 100,000 graduates with employable skills, 75 percent of whom the company will help place in jobs.