Microsoft acquires cloud-computing orchestration vendor Cycle Computing
Microsoft announced intentions to buy cloud-computing orchestration vendor Cycle Computing for an undisclosed amount.
Microsoft is positioning the deal, announced on August 15, as a way for it to enable its customers to use high-performance computing and other "Big Computing" capabilities in the public cloud.
From Microsoft's blog post about the acquisition of Cycle Computing from Azure corporate vice president Jason Zander:
"As customers continue to look for faster, more efficient ways to run their workloads, Cycle Computing's depth and expertise around massively scalable applications make them a great fit to join our Microsoft team. Their technology will further enhance our support of Linux HPC workloads and make it easier to extend on-premise workloads to the cloud."
Cycle Computing's CEO Jason Stowe, in his own blog post announcing the deal, noted that the company has customers across the manufacturing, life insurance, pharmaceutical and biotech, media and entertainment, financial services, startup, and government agency segments.
"We see amazing opportunities in joining forces with Microsoft. Its global cloud footprint and unique hybrid offering is built with enterprises in mind, and its Big Compute/HPC team has already delivered pivotal technologies such as InfiniBand and next generation GPUs. The Cycle team can't wait to combine CycleCloud's technology for managing Linux and Windows compute & data workloads, with Microsoft Azure's Big Compute infrastructure roadmap and global market reach," Stowe said in his note.
According to Cycle Computing's web site, Cycle's software currently works with not just Azure, but also Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. Cycle's software orchestrates workflows, manages data, and "balances cloud options," in the company's words and works with both public and private clouds from other vendors.
I've asked Microsoft if it intends to continue to support AWS and Google Cloud -- not just Azure -- with Cycle's technology moving forward. So far, no word back.
Update: A Microsoft spokesperson said: "We will continue to support Cycle Computing clients using AWS and/or Google Cloud. Future Microsoft versions released will be Azure focused. We are committed to providing customers a seamless migration experience to Azure if and when they choose to migrate."
Since 2005, Cycle's software has been used to "deploy virtual clusters and storage and run cutting-edge genomics, machine learning, simulation, and scientific computation workflows for Government, Universities, Fortune 500s, and all sizes of data driven, innovative companies like The Aerospace Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Purdue University, JP Morgan Chase, and Pfizer leveraging millions of hours of cloud based computation," its site says.
Neither Microsoft's nor Cycle's blog posts today provide details about how or when Cycle's software will be incorporated into Microsoft's Azure services platform.