Microsoft on Tuesday announced 31 new edge sites, making the total to 150+ across more than 50 countries. Microsoft is also constructing 14 new Azure ExpressRoute meet-me sites to offer customers a direct connection between their on-premise environments and Microsoft cloud services.
The tech giant explained how faster network access is important to a business success as in most cases, latency can be a major inhibitor to cloud adoption.
“We are adding new edges every week, and our ambition is to provide this level of performance to all of our global audience,” said Yousef Khalidi, corporate VP, Azure Networking.
The expansion of edge sites will provide application development teams greater visibility and increased availability to access cloud-based content and services from the vast Microsoft global network. This will improve the deployment process of the global applications.
On Microsoft Azure blog, the company explains how the new edge site benefits to infrastructure and development teams:
- Improved optimization for application delivery: Microsoft recently announced Azure Front Door (AFD) for enhanced application delivery. AFD allows users to manage and accelerate global routing of web traffic with customizations for optimized performance.
- High bandwidth access: There is better flexibility for customers now via high-bandwidth access to Azure Blob Storage, web applications and live video streaming. Azure Content Delivery Network provides high-bandwidth content by connecting to the objects present in the closest point of the customer.
- Private connectivity and dedicated performance: With Azure ExpressRoute, users can extend their on-premises networks to the cloud over private connection. ExpressRoute provides dual 100 gigabits per second global connectivity, enabling its users to connect to and through Azure seamlessly.
“Through deployment and operation of globally and strategically placed edge sites, Microsoft dramatically accelerates the performance and experience when you are accessing apps, content, or services such as Azure and Office 365 on the Microsoft global network,” said Khalidi.
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