Microsoft has revealed plans to prioritize access to its cloud-based Azure services to first responders, emergency services and critical infrastructure if there are capacity constraints.
The company had last week experienced some Microsoft Teams issues after a surge of nearly 40 percent occurred as businesses turned to remote working during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Microsoft is now trying to avoid impacting existing customers while managing new demand.
Microsoft is also actively keeping an eye on performance and usage trends round the clock to ensure services are optimized and working as expected. However, if things don’t work out as planned, Microsoft has priority plans. “As demand continues to grow, if we are faced with any capacity constraints in any region during this time, we have established clear criteria for the priority of new cloud capacity,” explains a Microsoft Azure blog post. “Top priority will be going to first responders, health and emergency management services, critical government infrastructure organizational use, and ensuring remote workers stay up and running with the core functionality of Teams.”
The software giant also disclosed it is working with governments globally to ensure local data centers are staffed and able to provide cloud services. Microsoft is also ready to adjust free offers for cloud services “to ensure the support of existing customers.”
Microsoft’s cloud commitments come just as CEO Satya Nadella sent an internal memo to all employees over the weekend, detailing the company’s coronavirus response plans. In it, Nadella acknowledges that “we are in uncharted territory” and that the ongoing pandemic is unsettling and uncertain. “One truth that brings me comfort is just as this virus has no borders, its cure will have no borders,” says Nadella. “We are all in this together as a global community. For me, the best way I’ve found to get past this anxiety is to focus on what I can do each day to make a small difference.”
