NEW DELHI: Microsoft said it will allow its over 10,000 channel partners in India to offer the Azure cloud platform to enterprises, a move that will enable the global software giant reach thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

“Microsoft is making Azure available in the open licensing catalogue for India. We saw that many SMEs wanted our Azure platform but they also wanted to work with their local IT partner for the same,” Microsoft India General Manager (Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners) Meetul Patel told.

With this move, SMBs in India will now be able to purchase Microsoft Azure cloud platform from their local IT partner, he added.

Earlier customers purchased Azure either directly from the Azure website or as part of an Enterprise Agreement (EA) with Microsoft.

While these options would continue, SMBs are likely to leverage their existing partners to procure Azure, he said.

Patel said cloud is a great way for SMBs to enhance their business efficiency with minimal expenditure on IT.

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