Microsoft buys Cycle Computing to strengthen cloud business
Microsoft has announced its plans to buy HPC company Cycle Computing in order to allow its customers to do more in the public cloud.
According to the company, the deal will enable its users to use high-performance computing as well as other "Big Computing" capabilities that will improve how they run their workloads in the cloud.
Azure corporate vice president Jason Zander explained how Cycle Computing will fit into Microsoft's other cloud offerings in a blog post, saying:
"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 already has a large presence in a number of industries including manufacturing, financial services, life insurance, pharmaceuticals, biotech and entertainment. The company's CEO Jason Stowe announced the deal in a blog post in which he described his team's eagerness to work with Microsoft, saying:
"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."
Cycle Computing's software currently works with Azure as well as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud to orchestrate workflows, manage data and balance cloud options. Microsoft intends to continue to support Cycle Computing clients that use AWS or Google Cloud following the acquisition.
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