Microsoft delays Azure Stack, the public/private cloud hybrid, until 2017

Microsoft had a vision of allowing businesses to create and deploy their own private clouds using its Azure Stack tools. The idea was simple; businesses would be able to build private Microsoft clouds that leveraged similar, if not, the same software they were already using on a public version of Azure and through it all, Microsoft’s Azure Stack would be the spine for development.

Microsoft began putting things into motion to bring that vision into reality, but according to a report from CIO, the vision of enabling companies to build private clouds on the back of Azure Stack is hitting a delay snag. Businesses interested in Microsoft’s proposal will have to wait now until mid-2017 before getting their hands on the tools in an official capacity.

After introducing the idea last year at its Ignite Conference, Microsoft seemed well on its way to delivering on the vision of building privatized clouds, first by prepping IT Pros with a hardware prep list in late 2015 and then issuing a technical preview of the tools in early 2016.

However, since the release of the technical preview, there has been little to no new on how and where the company was in the development and release schedule for Azure Stack to general customers. It now seems Microsoft has opted to do a bit more handholding leading up to the release of Azure Stack.

The new strategy in place by Microsoft now has the company pushing its release out further, to offer Azure Stack with more integrated systems building partnerships with businesses. Microsoft’s new approach, opposes its original proposal for Azure Stack, in that, instead of providing hardware configurations and the Azure Stack tool set, the company will now issue prevalidated hardware to simplify the process.

Microsoft’s Server and Tools division general manager Mike Schutz believes that the new change will yield more successful deployments, presumably, because Microsoft will be there in lock step to provide support and answers at each phase of the rollouts.

While the delay may be a bit annoying or irritating for those hoping to use Azure Stack soon, all is not lost. Smaller businesses can spin up an instance of Azure Stack beta on a single server for now and for larger businesses, Microsoft is urging the use of Cloud Platform Systems.

For now, there is no set date as to when Azure Stack will be released, but the technical preview and beta are still available for businesses interested in Microsoft’s vision.