Microsoft Azure adds five new blockchain partners

Tech giant Microsoft has added five new services to its Azure Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution, including decentralized prediction market Augur and Ethereum startup Slock.it.

Other newly added blockchain test platforms include custom blockchain development platform Lisk, digital asset platform BitShares, and alternative blockchain Syscoin. Previously announced partners include BitPay, Eris Industries, and Factom.

Marley Gray, Microsoft’s director of technology strategy, said in a blog post that the company is pursuing a blockchain product strategy that reflects the diversity of technologies in the market.

The news comes on the heels of Augur launching its public beta software, and Slock.it, its blockchain technology of choice, Ethereum, launching the second phase of its platform, “Homestead,” after nearly a year of development.

For the Azure platform, these newly added partners also indicate that Microsoft is moving towards its goal of building a "certified blockchain market", and soon we will see Microsoft's previously announced partners go through more rigorous approval work.

To learn more about Microsoft’s BaaS blockchain platform, read our full interview with Gray.

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/microsoft-5-blockchain-partners-azure/
By Pete Rizzo
Translator: Overnight porridge
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/microsoft-5-partners)