Microsoft prioritizes cloud access for first responders and emergency services

Microsoft plans to prioritize access to its cloud-based Azure services to first responders, emergency services and critical infrastructure when there are capacity constraints. The software giant experienced some issues with Microsoft Teams last week after a nearly 40 percent wave hit when companies operated remotely during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Microsoft is now trying to prevent it from affecting existing customers while managing new demand.

Microsoft actively monitors performance and usage trends 24/7 to ensure services are optimized and working as expected. If not, Microsoft has priority plans. “As demand continues to grow and we face capacity constraints in any region during this period, we have established clear criteria for the priority of new cloud capacity,” explains a Microsoft Azure blog post. “The top priority will go to first responders, health and emergency management services, critical use of public infrastructure and ensuring that remote workers continue to work with Teams’ core functionality.”

Microsoft says it also works with governments around the world to ensure that local data centers are staffed and able to provide cloud services. The software maker is also willing to tailor free cloud service offers “to ensure support for existing customers.”

Microsoft’s cloud commitments come just as CEO Satya Nadella sent an internal memo to all employees this weekend describing the company’s coronavirus response plans. In it, Nadella acknowledges that “we are in unknown territory” and that the ongoing pandemic is disturbing and uncertain. “One truth that gives me comfort is that this virus has no limits, but it has no limits,” says Nadella. “We are all together as a global community. For me, the best way to overcome this fear is to focus on what I can do every day to make a little difference. “