We’re excited to share that the capacity of Microsoft Azure operated by 21Vianet in China will be tripled in the next six months. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, announced the planned capacity expansion at the Microsoft Tech Summit 2017 in Beijing today. As Nadella reinforced at the event, new Azure capacity in China offers a great opportunity for customers in region, including both multinational corporations who are extending their business to China, and also Chinese corporations interested in expanding to cover Asia more broadly.

Announced in 2013, and officially launched in March 2014, Azure operated by 21Vianet is the first international public cloud service to become generally available in the China market. In accordance with Chinese regulatory requirements, Azure in China is provided through a partnership between Microsoft and Chinese datacenter operator 21Vianet. The cooperative model established between Microsoft and 21Vianet has set a benchmark for global cloud services entering China and remains the strongest example of how such collaboration can help bring cloud innovation into the Chinese market.

Since its launch in China three years ago, Azure has gained rapid momentum, gathering over 1,000 cloud partners and 80,000 enterprise customers. Customers and partners range from established Chinese brands such as Haier, Lenovo, and Huawei, to emerging companies such as mobile phone manufacturer Xiaomi and bike-share company Mobike. Today’s announcement will further benefit these companies by providing increased flexibility and expanding access to cutting-edge Azure cloud services. Increased capacity will also make it easier for multinational companies to meet the needs of customers in China using the scale, power, and secure infrastructure of the Azure cloud.

For more information about Azure service in China, please visit the official site of Microsoft Azure operated by 21Vianet: www.Azure.cn.