In a blog post on the Build Azure blog, Microsoft has announced the launch of the blockchain-based Azure Development Kit for Ethereum.

The new development kit is supposedly an extension of the Microsoft’s Visual Code platform and would help developers create their apps using the Azure Blockchain Service. The new platform can also be used to build apps on the open source Ethereum network. It will also enable the use of open source tools like Solidity and Truffle. The blog post says that even though there have been extensions for Solidity and Truffle on the platform, this is the first time that Microsoft has officially rolled out support for these open source programs. Highlighting Microsoft’s dedication to technology, the blog post stated:

This proves even further the investment and dedication that Microsoft is putting forth towards the use of blockchain ledger technologies in the Enterprise, or even on the public blockchain networks.

Microsoft was one of the first major tech companies that embraced blockchain. Back in 2014, the company launched Azure’s Blockchain-as-a-service solution (BaaS). Since then the company has added many blockchains on the Azure platform and is currently adding more. Microsoft aims to add all the blockchains in the world to Azure, so its users don’t face any barriers. Marley Gray, Microsoft’s director of technology strategy, in an interview in 2016 said:

“We want, and frankly, our customers want, access to every blockchain. It could be two guys in a garage that forked bitcoin and had this genius idea and people want to try that out. We don’t want to have any barriers. We’re open to all. We help even the smallest of players onboard”.

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Microsoft and JP Morgan’s Partnership

Just last week, Microsoft and JP Morgan announced that both the companies were partnering up to boost JP Morgan’s blockchain technology Quorum. Quorum, JP Morgan’s enterprise version of Ethereum for inter-bank payments, will now run on the Azure cloud by Microsoft. As stated by Peggy Johnson, executive VP at Microsoft, in a statement:

“As digital transformation extends beyond the walls of an individual organization, companies need solutions that enable them to securely share their business processes and data to drive imaginative new business models and reinvent industries. We’re thrilled to partner with a leader like J.P. Morgan to establish a foundation on which enterprises and partners can rapidly build and scale blockchain networks”

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JP Morgan’s Quorum is the company’s enterprise version of Ethereum tokens that will be used to tokenize gold on the Ethereum blockchain. JP Morgan has had a rough history with blockchain and bitcoin. Its CEO, Jamie Dimon, has snubbed bitcoin multiple times over the years, though the company certainly has made an about-face on the technology.

Microsoft’s Partnership with Starbucks

Microsoft held its Build developers conference on May 6th where the company alongside Starbucks has announced multiple projects that both the companies have been working on. One of the projects is part of Starbucks “Bean to Cup” initiative, wherein the customers would be able to track their coffee beans right to the farms they are sourced from. Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain-as-a-service (Baas) would help Starbucks do that. The whole shift is part of Starbucks’s primary strategy to develop its technology for the future.