Software King of the World Microsoft has decided it won’t be pocketing your pennies when you fancy moving your data from Azure to another cloud or back home to your own data centre.
Vole cooed in a snappy blog post that it was all about choice including the freedom to take your data and do a runner from Azure.
This sudden burst of generosity is all thanks to the looming European Data Act, set to give the boot to sneaky lock-in antics by 2025. But Vole felt generous and spread love worldwide, not just in Europe.
Google and AWS are are playing the same game. They recently ditched their egress fees for some lucky punters. Customers are crying out for a bit of give-and-take, and these tech titans are finally listening.
But don’t get too excited – there’s a catch or two. To dodge the fee, you’ve got to give Azure Support a heads-up, shift your stuff within 60 days, and ditch all your Azure subs.
And if you’re thinking of using those fancy “specialised services” like ExpressRoute, think again. It’s the internet or bust, and only Azure Storage’s outbound data gets a free pass.
Vole’s already offering the first 100GB a month on the house, but who will actually benefit from this new deal is anyone’s guess.
The big boys with their “specialised services” and those not keen on cutting ties with all their Azure subs might be left out in the cold.
Google’s playing the same game with a 60-day get-out and a list of services you can use it on – but once you’re done, it’s goodbye Google.
AWS is strutting around with the most chill offer, giving you 60 days to pack up and the option to waltz back in whenever you fancy.
But I don’t think you can pull a fast one on AWS—they’re watching anyone trying to take advantage of their free DTO rates.
The tech gossips reckon it’s all a bit of a show for the Euro watchdogs and the punters. Vole and Google’s “close your account” clause isn’t exactly singing “kumbaya” with the multi-cloud dream or the hybrid cloud hustle.
Google’s freebie egress feels a bit grudging, like a half-hearted handshake to kick off haggles with the bigwigs.
