Cloud Accelerator Program by Microsoft for government and partners

Microsoft India has launched Cloud Accelerator Program wherein enterprises and government organizations can understand cloud to take full advantage of it. The announcement was made at the 2015 Microsoft Azure Conference.

Last year, Microsoft announced that it will offer Microsoft Azure and Office 365 cloud services from local datacenters by the end of 2015.  The Cloud Accelerator Program will serve as a catalyst to accelerate the adoption of these services amongst enterprises and government organizations.

Karan Bajwa, MD, Microsoft India said, “Cloud is real in India today.  Our early-adopter customers are already seeing the benefits of public, private and hybrid cloud. With the Cloud Accelerator Program, we and our partners will be able to move thousands of customers to the cloud over the next few months. We are committed to help government departments, public sector organizations, and banking and financial services companies move forward on their own cloud journeys.”

More than 15 Microsoft partners including HCL, Wipro and Tech Mahindra will be part of the roll out of the Cloud Accelerator Program in India. More partners will come on board with new offerings over the coming months.

In addition, Microsoft has launched cloud training programs - Azure Vidyapeeth and GuruVarta, for partners that will enable SMBs transition to the cloud. The program will upskill partners to help 10,000 SMBs across 250 cities to move to the cloud.

The company also announced the launch of a Cloud Decision Framework for public sector companies, government departments, banks, and financial services companies. The Cloud Decision Framework is an independent, open framework based on industry standards and regulator-guidelines. The framework builds on international ISO standards and incorporates India-specific guidelines from IRDA, IDRBT and the IT Act.

“The Cloud Accelerator Program is designed to help India move to the cloud, and in turn, help ‘Make in India’ a reality. This will open up new possibilities in e-governance, financial inclusion, healthcare, and education to positively impact the lives of a billion people,” said Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman, Microsoft India.