Earlier today, Microsoft announced that it has introduced three new virtual machines (VMs) into its UK based data centers in order to enhance the cloud computing capabilities and information processing power of its British Azure cloud customers. According to Microsoft, the data center integration of the G-Series, H-Series and N-Series virtual machines will empower British enterprises while running data and graphic intensive workloads by creating multiple virtual copies of their own systems.
The new virtual machines are based on Intel technology and will be offered to customers in six different storage capacity variants. Furthermore, they will house processors that can operate at up to 3.5 GHz and utilize a Solid State Drive (SSD) based local storage.
Delving into the specifications and deployment uses of each new virtual machine, Microsoft state that the G-Series virtual machine comes equipped with an Intel Xeon E5 v3 processor that is designed to support the most demanding of cloud applications. In contrast, the H-Series virtual machine has been tailored for complex engineering and scientific tasks that involve heavy data, such as weather forecasting and computational research. The N-Series virtual machine, which is powered by NVIDIA graphics processing units, will be ideal for executing high-performance computer simulations and real-time data analytics.
While making the announcement today, Senior Director of Business Strategy at Microsoft, Graham Hill, had this to say:
Microsoft’s UK data centers offer unrivalled opportunities for companies of all sizes in this country to unlock their growth potential. We are seeing huge demand for our cloud services, as firms digitally transform to meet the needs of their customers.
We are delighted to announce the release of the G-Series, H-Series and N-Series services in the UK, which are perfect for anyone wanting to unlock the business possibilities behind large amounts of information.
Microsoft opened its first UK based data center in September last year. Since that time, the company’s cloud computing business has enjoyed a stellar 97% growth year-over-year.