Microsoft and SAP Forge Strategic Alliance to Bolster European Cloud Resilience

## Ensuring Business Continuity: A New Era for European Cloud Infrastructure In a move set to significantly enhance the resilience of cloud services across Europe, tech giants Microsoft and SAP have unveiled an extension of their long-standing collaboration. This deepened partnership specifically targets the uninterrupted operation of SAP's core cloud offerings, RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP, when hosted on Microsoft Azure, particularly in the face of widespread service disruptions. The agreement underscores a shared commitment to delivering robust and reliable cloud infrastructure for businesses throughout the continent. It acknowledges the increasing dependency of European enterprises on cloud-based solutions for their critical operations and the imperative to safeguard these services against unforeseen technical challenges. ## A Proactive Approach to Outage Management Under the terms of this enhanced partnership, Microsoft and SAP are implementing sophisticated measures to ensure that SAP's cloud solutions remain operational even if a primary Azure region experiences a major outage. This proactive strategy involves leveraging advanced failover mechanisms and redundant infrastructure to guarantee business continuity for their mutual customers. “As the two companies most trusted to power the global economy, SAP and Microsoft are taking our partnership to the next level for the benefit of our customers,” stated Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Microsoft. He further emphasized the practical implications of this collaboration, explaining, “This expanded partnership means that customers can run their mission-critical SAP systems on Azure with the assurance that they will be able to maintain business continuity even in times of crisis.” This highlights the tangible benefits for European companies that depend on these platforms for their daily functions. ## Strategic Importance for the European Market For European businesses, this alliance brings a crucial layer of security and stability. Many organizations are in the midst of, or planning, extensive digital transformations, with cloud adoption being a cornerstone. The assurance of continuous operation, even during significant infrastructure challenges, provides a compelling reason for European companies to confidently embrace RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP on Azure. Scott Russell, who serves as a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE and leads Customer Success, echoed this sentiment, remarking, “The new and expanded partnership between SAP and Microsoft takes our long-standing collaboration to the next level by increasing the resiliency of our joint offerings and giving customers more confidence to run their mission-critical applications in the cloud.” His comments reinforce the strategic value of this partnership in bolstering trust and facilitating broader cloud adoption within the European market. This initiative is not merely about technical resilience; it's about fostering greater confidence in cloud ecosystems. By proactively addressing potential vulnerabilities, Microsoft and SAP are setting a new standard for cloud service reliability, directly benefiting the myriad of European businesses that rely on their platforms for innovation and growth.