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| Microsoft wants to connect satellites to the cloud |
According to a document Microsoft submitted to the Federal Communications Commission last month, Microsoft is trying to ask Amazon to provide a direct satellite connection to the company's cloud computing network.
Direct satellite connection to cloud computing networks can illustrate the ongoing competition from the largest cloud infrastructure providers.
In this way, the company can show that it is ready and willing to meet the many needs of a potential customer.
The FCC document says Microsoft plans to link the Spanish imaging satellite to two ground stations in Washington state to show that satellite data can be uploaded directly to the Azure cloud for immediate processing.
The earth station is sometimes called the earth station and is an important link for sending data between satellites in orbit.
In particular, the software giant suggested finding an identical ground station in the Quincy data center.
On September 2, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized Microsoft to conduct a demonstration to verify the service.
With this mandate, the software giant obtains a six-month license to download contact data and photos.
The Spanish satellite Deimos-2 was launched into orbit in June 2014 and is operated by a subsidiary of UrtheCast.
For the tests, the Deimos 2 satellite is within a few minutes of the Microsoft antenna.
In a separate FCC document, the company said it hoped to make presentations before and after the IT technical meeting on September 22 Ignite.
The company wrote that if the demonstration is successful, Microsoft will apply to the International Bureau (IB) for a conventional ground station to support future business operations, including inviting DEIMOS-2 to enter the US market.
Amazon is a leader in the growing cloud computing market and will have a share of 45% in 2019, while Microsoft has a share of about 18% and Microsoft lists the services that AWS provides and their offerings on the website. 'Interview.
Cloud infrastructure makes up most of the profits from running Amazon. For Microsoft, the growth rate of its cloud infrastructure is outpacing other key areas such as Windows.
Microsoft hopes to show satellite companies the potential benefits of connecting directly to the Azure cloud by building a network of earth stations.
Microsoft's strategy is very similar to the one formulated by Amazon when the AWS Ground Station was launched in November 2018, as tech giants compete with each other in the new world of cloud computing services.
Amazon (AWS) said the ground station can communicate with various satellites in low to medium orbit.
The company prides itself on the fact that the AWS ground station cuts the time it takes to process and analyze satellite data from hours to minutes or seconds and saves up to 80% of customers on station operations. Traditional land. Costs.