2 min

Tags in this article

, , , , , ,

OpenStack, the open-source, IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) cloud company related to projects like Airship (open-source tools for cloud provisioning) and Zuul (the Ansible-based Continous Integration (CI) system), has for years been stuck between what Gartner calls the Trough of Disillusionment and Slope of Enlightenment.

Microsoft decided to join the Open Infrastructure Foundation, a clear indication to anyone that OpenStack and its related tech have gone to the Plateau of Productivity.

The reason? Together, they can propel the foundation forward and profit from the cloud technologies by enhancing hybrid cloud and 5G, something OpenStack considers a specialty.

A member with a lot of weight

Microsoft joins the Open Infrastructure Foundation as a Platinum Member. The move is sensible, given that a 2021 OpenStack User Survey, which will be released in Superuser Magazine, 40% of OpenStack users running their deployment in a multi-cloud format are already running on Azure and OpenStack.

It stands to reason that Microsoft and OpenInfra would get into a relationship.

Ran van Wyk, Microsoft’s Partner Software Engineering Manager for Azure for Operators gave a presentation to the OpenInfra Board of Directors saying the multi-year commitment to support the OpenInfra Foundation is Microsoft’s latest move to throw its weight behind a rapidly growing and diverse ecosystem of communities and open-source projects.

What is expected of Microsoft?

Via Microsoft’s membership, the software giant will:

  • Represent the interests of its telecom customers in the broader OpenInfra community and specifically in the OpenStack.
  • Be an active contributor to several OpenInfra projects
  • Seek opportunities to integrate OpenInfra projects into Microsoft Azure’s product roadmap as it changes and grows.

To be specific about the ‘telecom’ part, Microsoft will use OpenInfra technologies to further its partnership with AT&T. Microsoft joins 60 organizations already counted among OpenInfra’s members, to guide the future of infrastructure powered by open-source initiatives.