Business

Microsoft Azure only launched in Germany last September, and already the cloud service giant is announcing new services and certifications. Azure Jan. 30 shared that it’s adding four new functionalities for its German customers, including HDInsight on Linux, Power BI, Cool Blob Storage and Mobile Apps for the Azure App Service.

The HDInsight on Linux offering is Azure’s fully-managed cloud Hadoop offering, which includes open-source analytic clusters for Hive, Spark, MapReduce, Storm, HBase, Kafka and R Server, big data and ISV (independent software vendor) applications that can be deployable with enterprise-level security and monitoring. Azure’s link of its services with Power BI in Azure Germany promises customers the ability to turn data processing into analytics and reports for real-time insights into businesses.

Meanwhile, Azure Cool Blob Storage is meant to be a low-cost storage option for cool object data, covering media content, archive data and backups, while the new Mobile Apps capabilities of the Azure App Service offers a scalable, mobile app development platform to help build native and cross-platform mobile experiences.

“While each of these capabilities further empowers customers to achieve more with Azure, it is the combination of the innovative platform capabilities with our commitment to a comprehensive assurance program that makes Microsoft Azure Germany the ideal platform for our partners and customers,” John Bruno, senior director of Microsoft Azure, wrote in a blog post.

Additionally, Azure Germany has achieved ISO/IEC 27001 certification and ISO/IEC 27018 compliance attestation, with the former covering the security policies and procedures for information assets, keeping in line with international standards. The ISO/IEC 27018 code of practice, based on European Union data-protection laws, provides guidance to cloud service providers on how to assess risks and implement controls for protecting data.

“Moreover, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27018 emphasize a well-defined, layered approach to security which allows Microsoft to proactively monitor and evaluate its security controls against global security standards, while continuously adapting to local security laws, regulations and best practices in information security,” Bruno wrote. “Microsoft has established a continuous monitoring program that involves a detailed review and validation of information security and privacy-related controls on an ongoing basis.”