It would seem that software giant Microsoft is making some strides in adopting decentralized technologies, as its cloud computing service Azure is now delving further into the world of decentralized computing.



More accurately, this news came in a recent blog post, which expanded on the series of benefits being brought to Azure through this most recent venture. Specifically, it will see an Ethereum network algorithm used in a Proof-of-Authority product.



In the public statement, a software engineer for Microsoft Azure – Cody Born – argued that Azure and Microsoft have already had “great traction with our support of Azure”.



This comment refers to Microsoft’s development of an Ethereum-powered Azure platform, which the Redmond-based firm initially revealed in October of 2015.



In this latest statement, Born went on to detail how extensive feedback from the community has allowed Microsoft to design and develop its next Ethereum ledger product.



More specifically, this refers to the Ethereum Proof-of-Authority on Azure. Born notes that Proof-of-Authority protocols are especially suitable for so-called “permission networks”, where all participants are already known and trusted.



In addition to this, Azure’s new Ethereum-based Proof-of-Authority is said to be developed with businesses in mind – effectively making it enterprise-ready from the onset of the network.



Azure also reports that they have designed the network to have a highly available network presence in order to be less susceptible to have nodes go down on the network with disadvantageous consequences.



Furthermore, Azure has announced that they will include support for Parity’s web-assembly, meaning that developers will be able to code and program smart contracts in either C, C++, or Rust.



This new Proof-of-Authority algorithm should also allow developers to construct decentralized applications (dApps) in a more effective manner.



Nonetheless, it should be stressed that these dApps will likely nearly exclusively be used in a consortium or private networks.



The post is fairly technical, but it goes on to detail how the product will also include Azure Monitor, which will be used to track statistics relating to relevant nodes and networks.



Azure also revealed that the Proof-of-Authority deployment will be accompanied by a governance dApp, which is intended to ease voting and validate delegation.



In summary, the addition of Ethereum-based technology to the popular Azure service is a notable milestone in the adoption of blockchain-related technology.

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