The blockchain consortium led by R3CEV, a group of 42 global banks
working on blockchain applications that includes JPMorgan Chase, Goldman
Sachs and more, is now working with tech giant Microsoft.
The full partnership, which was first tested
back in January with a smaller group of R3’s members, gives the
consortium access to more than just Microsoft's platform of
Blockchain-as-a-Service tools.
Charley Cooper, managing director of R3, told CoinDesk that the
formal partnership came after a series of tests with other potential
partners, including Amazon and IBM. A dedicated team of five Microsoft
employees is now working directly with consortium members.
Under the terms of the non-exclusive deal, Microsoft will provide
access to 45 cloud-based tools on its Azure platform, including those
created by ConsenSys, Ripple, Eris Industries, Factom, BitPay, and other
startups working with the technology.
In addition to the software, Microsoft has set aside a team of
“dedicated technical architects, project managers, lab assistants and
support services” to work with consortium members around the world.
The partnership comes after 11 of R3’s consortium members, including
Barclays, Credit Suisse, and Well Fargo, completed a test of private
version of the Ethereum network using Microsoft’s
Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform in January.
“R3 and member banks will experiment and learn faster, accelerating
distributed ledger technology deployment,” said Peggy Johnson, executive
vice president of global business development at Microsoft, in a statement.
“What’s more, our collaboration brings to light tremendous
opportunities to rethink business processes and transform entire
industries.”
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In a separate blog
post written by Johnson as part of the Microsoft Envision conference in
New Orleans, she wrote that the partnership will help streamline
back-office operations, “potentially saving billions of dollars.”
Over the coming weeks and months Cooper says he expect the full scope
of the partnership with Microsoft will expand, depending on how the
software company and the banking consortium work together.
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