Microsoft will let Azure services run in AWS and Google Cloud Platform

Azure Arc will help customers address 'cloud sprawl', Microsoft says

Microsoft has revealed it will soon let Azure services run in environments built by its competitors, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform.

At its Ignite conference in Florida today, the vendor announced Azure Arc, which gives customers the ability to run Azure services on different environments and manage them from Azure.

Microsoft says that Arc will help customers manage the "cloud sprawl" created by all the different environments businesses run.

John Chirapurath, general manager of Azure data, said the new service is "both an acknowledgement of, and a response to, the reality that many companies face today".

"They are running various parts of their businesses on different cloud platforms, and they also have a lot of data stored on their own new or legacy systems," he added.

"We are offering our customers the ability to take their services, untethered from Azure, and run them inside their own datacentre or in another cloud."

The announcement is the latest in a string of moves from Microsoft that see its technology integrate better with other vendors, having recently announced partnerships with Oracle, VMware and SAP.

Microsoft describes Arc as "enabling deployment of Azure services anywhere and extends Azure management to any infrastructure".

Arc is available now in preview, with Microsoft yet to reveal any details on pricing.

CEO Satya Nadella is expected to reveal more during his keynote at Microsoft Ignite.