Microsoft is generating preparations to maneuver applications that developers are hosting on its Azure cloud infrastructure out of its Washington state datacenter, as a result of a change in the tax laws there.Microsoft warned customers testing their apps about the Azure test release in regards to the planned change earlier this week. Microsoft is readying a migration instrument to support testers with the move, company officials mentioned.Cloud-computing and .Net expert Roger Jennings place together all of the several reviews and clues into a detailed August 5 publish on his OakLeaf Programs weblog.As Jennings noted, on August three, the Windows Azure crew introduced programs to disable the “USA - Northwest” option for new Azure-hosted applications. (Existing applications that are part with the Azure beta may be allowed to remain hosted within the Quincy, Wash.,
Purchase Office 2007, datacenter, as the Microsoft blog publish says. Later on, the group appears to contradict that fact, however, saying all apps and storage would be moved.)From the Azure team;s publish:“This change is in preparation for our migration out with the northwest region. Because of a change in local tax laws,
Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007, we’ve decided to migrate Windows Azure programs out of our northwest data center prior to our commercial launch this November. This means that all programs and storage accounts inside the ‘USA - Northwest; region will need to maneuver to another region in the next few months, or they will be deleted.”Earlier this year, there were reviews that Microsoft (and Yahoo) had halted datacenter construction in Quincy. At that time,
Office 2010 Home And Business, quite a few organization watchers believed the halt was likely temporary and was because of the poor economy. It turns out it was because of a Washington state tax change, as DataCenter Knowledge explained.“Late last year Washington State attorney general Rob McKenna ruled that data centers were no longer covered by a state sales tax break for manufacturing enterprises, and thus must pay a 7.9 percent tax on data center construction and equipment.”(Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire is trying to restore the exemption for data centers,
Windows 7 Home Premium, according to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer story cited by Jennings.)Jennings speculates that Microsoft might be moving its U.S.-based Azure-hosted applications to its San Antonion datacenter.I;ve asked Microsoft for more information on this, including what is going to happen to its Quincy datacenter. I;m also asking whether the decision to move the Azure-hosted apps out of Quincy will stand if a tax exemption comes to pass. If and when I receive responses to these questions from Microsoft, I;ll update this post.Update: So far, this is all Microsoft is willing to share on this matter. A corporate spokesperson sent me the following e-mailed statement:“Beyond the information within the Windows Azure team blog post that you referenced in your publish this afternoon, we don;t have additional specifics to share about the Windows Azure data migration from NW to SW datacenters.”Update No. 2 (August 6): The aforementioned Microsoft spokesperson just e-mailed a second statement, with an answer to my question on Quincy;s future. No word on which services will continue to be housed in Quincy or why users; Azure apps but not other services are going to be moved to your Southwest. But here;s what the corporation is saying:“Microsoft will continue to host countless Microsoft online services from our mega data center in Quincy,
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, Washington.“The delivery of online services is a fairly new business enterprise model. We are working together with the Washington state legislature and the Governor to identify ways the state can offer competitive advantages over other states eager to attract this enterprise, including areas such as tax regulations. Microsoft continues to be committed to our company in the state of Washington and the data center in Quincy.”
