We’re pleased to announce that we’re working with Microsoft to bring the Slock.it Đapp to the Microsoft Azure Cloud, powered by Ethereum.
Microsoft has heavily invested in their cloud infrastructure, now leveraged by thousands of large corporate partners to deploy countless applications, ranging from machine learning to data warehousing — and now, interacting with the decentralized sharing/collaborative economy.
For Slock.it UG, this means unprecedented exposure to ‘mainstream IT’ and new potential partners in our mission to grow the DAO ecosystem. For theDAO, it means expanding its serviceable available market to include thousands of new channels across a variety of verticals it could only have dreamed of a few short weeks ago.
This will also make it very easy for developers to build Đapps for theEthereum Computer, by simplifying retrieving data from existing services (e.g. Oracles) or triggering hosted applications and devices based on messages and payments made on the blockchain. We’ll soon make available an Ubuntu core image bundling the Ethereum framework and the Slock.it Snappy Đapp for developers to build on. These Đapps can then be deployed without modifications to the Ethereum Computer, making the Azure cloud the perfect environment to experiment with Slock.it and smart objects such as the Samsung SmartThings line.
Some of you may wonder if there is added value of deploying a blockchain on top of a cloud service — an infrastructure which is by definition centralized. The Ethereum “Blockchain as a Service” allows Microsoft customers and partners to test and integrate blockchains as part of their network easily, within an environment they can understand and control. It’s a sandbox, a playground. It might not make sense for the hacker who enjoys spending 3 days compiling the Dev branch on CAELinux. But if your name is GE, Pearson or 3M — it’s the ideal way to get started — with a one-click deployment.
We’re particularly excited about what this will mean for companies that are keen to explore Slock.it in order to decentralize access control, but are hesitant with regards to how this integration might impact existing services.
Think about a warehouse provider wanting to:
- Authorize users to access their buildings (brokers, property managers, leasing officers, maintenance techs, etc.) => Slock.it Đapp + Blockchain + Azure Identity
- Create an agenda for users to plan their access to the building => Azure Compute
- Deploy access control on the buildings that could be unlocked through a secure mobile app => Azure Mobile Services, including 2FA
- Capture data on the Đapp (property information, site visit review form etc) => Azure Storage Service
- Push all the above data to a CRM system (e.g., if visited by a broker, then it will be stored as an opportunity) => Azure platform as a service (PaaS)
- Generate reports => Azure Business Analytics
I didn’t choose this example at random — this is paraphrased from a conversation with a company currently exploring our technology. Big chunks of their access control can be automated and decentralized with the Slock.it App, and now with Azure integration, it can be done as part of an incremental transition toward decentralization, eliminating the need to call an expensive integrator or spending months experimenting with costly PoCs.
For more information, please see the Microsoft Azure website, or join the discussion on our Slack channel at https://slock.it:3000
About the Author
Stephan Tual is the Founder and COO of Slock.it.
Previously CCO for the Ethereum project, Stephan has three startups under his belt and brings 20 years of enterprise IT experience to theSlock.it project. Before discovering the Blockchain, Stephan held CTO positions at leading data analytics companies in London with clients including VISA Europe and BP.
His current focus is on the intersection of blockchain technology and embedded hardware, where autonomous agents can transact as part of an optimal “Economy of Things”.
