Aspera's fasp transport technology now powers high-speed data transfers to and from Microsoft's Windows Azure public cloud infrastructure

Sept. 4 — Aspera, Inc., creators of next-generation software technologies that move the world's data at maximum speed, today announced the opening of the Aspera On Demand Platform as a Service (PaaS) for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Azure, in beta. The interoperability of Aspera's fasp transport software with Windows Azure further unlocks the vast capabilities of the Microsoft public cloud, helping users experience the benefits of seamless, high-speed and secure large data ingest and access for Windows Azure local or object storage.

Windows Azure's ready-to-use Media Services allows customers to easily create complex media workflows built on the Windows Azure Media Services and third-party technologies, and run them in the cloud for maximum flexibility, scalability and reliability. By integrating high-speed data transfer capabilities based on patented fasp technology, Aspera On Demand for Windows Azure provides content providers and media partners with nearly unlimited scale-out transfer and storage capacity, allowing them to cost-effectively process and store huge volumes of digital media and make it available in the format that customers want, when they want it.

"Windows Azure Media Services gives customers ready-to-use services in the cloud for their digital content processing and distribution," said Sudheer Sirivara, director, Windows Azure Media Services, Microsoft. "With Aspera's on-demand transfer software and Windows Azure, customers can implement secure global workflows at scale, moving the largest files of any type at fast speeds, with confidence."

Existing applications that already take advantage of Windows Azure can use Aspera and Windows Azure as a high-speed transport and storage platform. In addition, the latest Aspera Web applications – such as Aspera Shares, an easy-to-use web application for content ingest and sharing, and Aspera faspex, the flagship global person-to-person file exchange and collaboration software – offer full browsing and transfer capabilities with Windows Azure local and BLOB storage even when running outside of Windows Azure.

"The Aspera On Demand platform is at the core of the next wave of cloud enablement for data-intensive workflows. By allowing big data to be accessed and moved fast and securely to, from, and across remote infrastructures, media and entertainment companies can now actually leverage the cloud for their file-based workflows," said Michelle Munson, Aspera president and co-founder. "Aspera and Windows Azure deliver on the cloud's promise for media companies, allowing them to reap the benefits in terms instant scale-up, flexibility and low cost, while also focusing on their core business instead of building IT infrastructure."

For more information on how Aspera delivers on the promise of the cloud, or to qualify for the Aspera On Demand Azure Beta, contact Aspera at ondemand@asperasoft.com or visit http://cloud.asperasoft.com.

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Source: Aspera, Inc.