Microsoft achieves global-scale content delivery with Gcore CDN

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is a global technology leader renowned for its cloud services, software, and AI innovations. Their portfolio includes widely used products and services such as Azure, Microsoft 365, Windows, and Xbox. With operations spanning the globe and billions of users worldwide, Microsoft requires massive-scale infrastructure to deliver updates, patches, and content reliably to customers across every region. With a commitment to empowering every person and organization on the planet to achieve more, Microsoft continually pushes the boundaries of technology and innovation.

Maintaining reliability in a dynamic CDN landscape

In mid-2024, Microsoft set out to reinforce their multi-CDN strategy. For a company delivering content at Microsoft's scale, maintaining multiple CDN partnerships is essential for global reliability, performance, and the ability to handle increasing delivery demands.

As part of this effort to strengthen overall capacity and resilience, Microsoft evaluated and onboarded an additional CDN partner capable of delivering at global scale, integrating seamlessly with their existing multi-CDN architecture, and providing the stability and reliability expected from a delivery partner.

A strategic partnership forged through relationship and expertise

To help maintain a reliable pool of partners for their CDN needs, Microsoft selected Gcore to join an elite group of leading global CDN providers. Working directly with the team in Microsoft's Seattle headquarters, Gcore deployed up to 30 Tbps of global CDN capacity across all major regions, including Europe, North America, LATAM, and APAC, utilizing Gcore's extensive global network with 210+ points of presence to ensure optimal performance wherever Microsoft's users are located.

The partnership delivered on what matters most: enterprise-grade fundamentals executed at scale. Microsoft's multi-provider strategy requires standardized configurations for operational efficiency, and Gcore demonstrated these critical capabilities:

• Financial stability: As a financially secure European-based company, Gcore offered the business continuity Microsoft needed
• Global capacity: Ability to deliver massive bandwidth across all major regions worldwide
• Technical flexibility: Rapid adaptation to support Microsoft's required features and collaborative approach to integration

"Gcore's global infrastructure gave us confidence in their ability to be a long-term partner. Their team demonstrated responsiveness and technical capability throughout the selection process, and their willingness to work directly with our local team showed the kind of partnership approach we value."

Joey Etzler, Principal Technical Program Manager – Content Delivery Network, Microsoft

Flexibility and adaptability for seamless integration

The partnership was designed for progressive scaling, with the technical integration completed efficiently and traffic ramping up smoothly throughout the deployment phase.

Gcore demonstrated flexibility throughout the onboarding process, adapting CDN capabilities to support Microsoft's required features while maintaining the standard configuration approach Microsoft employs across all providers. This collaborative relationship enabled smooth integration with Microsoft's existing multi-CDN strategy.

"The Gcore team was highly responsive throughout our integration process. They quickly adapted to our requirements while maintaining the standardized configuration approach we need across our provider ecosystem, which made the onboarding process smooth and efficient."

Joey Etzler, Principal Technical Program Manager – Content Delivery Network, Microsoft

Delivering reliable global performance at scale

With Gcore's support, Microsoft successfully reinforced their multi-CDN strategy, ensuring resilient, high-performance content delivery to users worldwide. The robust global infrastructure enabled seamless delivery across all regions, maintaining the performance standards that Microsoft's global user base expects.

Gcore's performance has matched competitive standards across key metrics, including response time and download speeds, ensuring Microsoft users receive consistent experiences regardless of which CDN provider serves their content.

"Gcore has consistently delivered the global capacity and reliability we require. Their network has integrated seamlessly into our multi-CDN strategy, meeting our performance standards across all regions."

Joey Etzler, Principal Technical Program Manager – Content Delivery Network, Microsoft

Building a long-term partnership for the future

By joining a select group of industry-leading CDN providers, Gcore has proven its ability to deliver enterprise-grade CDN services at a global scale. This partnership showcases Gcore's capability as a European-headquartered company to deliver massive-scale infrastructure for global technology leaders.

With the technical integration complete and a proven track record established, Gcore is well-positioned to support Microsoft's evolving global content delivery needs as the relationship matures.

Achieving seamless, scalable, and reliable content delivery with Gcore

By leveraging an extensive global network with 210+ points of presence (PoPs) and continuously evolving to deliver cutting-edge infrastructure, Gcore is well-equipped to meet the demands of global technology companies, delivering the capacity, reliability, and global reach that enterprise CDN requirements demand.

If you're looking for high-performance, globally-distributed CDN infrastructure that can scale to meet massive capacity requirements, contact us to discuss your content delivery needs.

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