Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a significant change in the number of conversations we’ve had about the value of real-time data in digital experiences. Now, leveraging and extracting value from it in Azure is a reality thanks to this new collaboration between Confluent and Microsoft.
The alliance has significantly strengthened since forming in January 2021, amidst the COVID-induced rush for businesses to innovate in the cloud and streamline end-to-end experiences that rely on data. The joint pursuit of tighter integrations and faster innovation means that many more businesses are now able to pursue their own digital transformation initiatives in earnest.
President of Field Operations at Confluent, Erica Schultz, said: “COVID-driven disruption has drastically accelerated timelines for delivering end-to-end digital experiences and real-time operations.
“We are extremely dedicated to ensuring our customers can innovate fast in the cloud, and have deepened our partnership with Microsoft to support businesses at this critical time in their transformation.”
Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Judson Althoff, also commented: “Streaming data in the cloud is the foundation of next-generation customer experiences and business operations.
“Through Microsoft and Confluent’s expanded relationship, more organizations will be able to fully realize the power of cloud-native data streaming and benefit from faster development of modern applications with easier access to real-time data in the cloud.”
At Kin + Carta, we’re thrilled about the prospects of enhanced data streaming for our clients as a result of this strengthened bond. We’re already seeing the appetite for real-time data increase as part of digital transformation programs across a number of industries, thanks to our partnerships with both Confluent and Microsoft.
Our VP of Cloud Modernization, Mark Ardito, can’t wait to see the possibilities of this partnership come to fruition: “One of the biggest lessons learned coming out of the COVID pandemic was the importance of real-time data.”
“Showing a customer yesterday’s inventory in your mobile app is frustrating to the end-user. Customers and end-users need to know information that is up to date and accurate. Having applications work in batch processes is like reading a newspaper with yesterday's news in it.”
The partnership empowers more forward-thinking businesses to become data leaders, with modern tech stacks that deliver the digital experiences that people expect from modern brands.
“Confluent Kafka helps organizations move to real-time data in a simplified way in Azure. Their self-managed platform in Azure, Confluent Cloud, is the catalyst for organizations to move to real-time data in their applications.
“I’m excited to see this partnership between Microsoft and Confluent grow. We have seen a lot of our customers move to this architecture pattern in Azure and this partnership makes this a seamless journey for others to follow.”
