Microsoft Egypt Cloud Business Group Lead, Ahmed El Salmy, said that Azure Stack solutions for data hosting, has many competitive advantages over cloud computing, and other data hosting services. He told Daily News Egypt that Azure Stack is different from traditional cloud computing services, as it could be used to benefit from the apps available on it, without internet connection, which is a good solution for the apps that want to keep their data separate from internet, or in geographical locations where internet connection is difficult to establish. Azure Stack is suitable for many government institutions in Egypt that wish to keep their data within the country, and it is also suitable for critical sectors in terms of security, he added. El Salmy believes there is a strong chance for the growth of the cloud computing market in Egypt, as the Egyptian government aims to compete with global developments, and digital transformation. Cloud computing is one of the tools needed to achieve such digitalisation. “We will provide our own Azure Stack solutions through Link Data Centre, which is one of our distinguished partners in the Egyptian market,” he said. As for the challenges, previously they revolved especially in the information sovereignty of some critical industries and government entities, however they were overcome through Azure Stack. Link Datacenter and Microsoft Egypt have launched Azure Stack services, which placed Link Datacenter as the first provider of Azure Stack cloud computing services. Link Datacenter is a Gold business partner certified by Microsoft Egypt. It offers a variety of data-hosting solutions through Azure Cloud services and its data centres, as well as data management, across a range of technological fields. Cooperation with Link Datacenter includes information security, as well as infrastructure and software availability. These services are provided by regional data centres in three different locations, which are characterised by international technical specifications which meet customer demands. Azure Stack is the latest cloud computing innovation from Microsoft, where it enhances Azure's cloud computing services. The hosting is not only limited to a geographical location, thus allowing organisations to overcome the constraints set by the regulatory policies, data sovereignty policies, or time-access problems. Azure Stack can also be easily connected to Azure Cloud to integrate cloud data and applications.
