It was called the worst kept secret in the channel, but when Microsoft Canada announced plans to have commercial cloud services from Canada featuring Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online delivered from two centres; one in Toronto and the other in Quebec City it just solidified Janet Kennedy’s prominence in the IT community in Canada.
But that wasn’t her only home run in 2015; Kennedy led a Canadian operation that was named Microsoft’s Top Subsidiary of the year. A feat last achieved when Phil Sorgen was president.
To top it off Microsoft Canada boosted revenues for Office 365, Azure, CRM Online and EMS.
But it was the touch down in Canada announcement that made Kennedy the No. 3 Newsmaker on CDN‘s annual list. The Toronto data centre is estimated to create more than 14,000 jobs.
The new locally deployed services will address data residency considerations for Microsoft customers and channel partners. General availability of Azure is anticipated in early 2016, followed by Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online later in 2016.
Even Microsoft COO Kevin Turner was on hand for the launch event and said the “Microsoft Cloud will be truly Canadian.”
Meanwhile Kennedy said delivering cloud services from data centres on Canadian soil opens up significant new cloud-based possibilities for organizations that must adhere to strict data storage compliance codes.
“We’re very proud to be delivering the Microsoft Cloud right here in Canada, for the benefit of Canadian innovators, entrepreneurs, governments and small businesses. Delivering the flexibility of hyper-scale, enterprise grade, locally deployed public cloud services is the ultimate Canadian hat trick.”
That wasn’t it for Kennedy in 2015. The Canadian leader made a commitment to investing more dollars and resources in independent software vendors and start-ups with innovation centres such as Communitech, MaRS, and the Rotman House. Microsoft Canada will be offering $100,000 to these new solution providers, she said.
“We have incredible tech talent in Canadian universities and these innovation hubs. We have an opportunity to get Canadian kids and give them $100,000 to do new cloud solutions; so they can stay in Canada.”
Click here to check out the full list of CDN’s Top 25 Newsmakers of 2015.