1. What is Azure?

Azure is a flexible and open cloud platform that enables you to quickly build, deploy, and
manage applications in the data centers. Azure supports all major operating systems,
languages, or development tools and integrates public cloud applications with the existing
IT infrastructure.
Azure offers international class Service Level Agreements that enable you to build and
run highly available applications without having to focus on the infrastructure. It provides
the ability to automatically repair operating systems and services, and has built-in
network load balancing and hardware fault recovery capabilities. It supports the
deployment models that allow you to upgrade applications with no downtime.
Azure enables you to generate applications in any language and by any framework or
tool. Azure utilizes the public functions and services of open REST protocol. Azure’s
client libraries are available in a variety of programming languages and are published
under open source licenses and hosted on GitHub.

2. What are the prices of Azure services in China?

We will continue to update and release more information on pricing. You can get the
latest information on the Pricing Page.

3. Are Azure services in China the same as Azure services in other areas?
In China, Azure is operated by Shanghai Blue Cloud Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly-
owned subsidiary of Beijing 21Vianet Broadband Data Center Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as
"21Vianet"). 21Vianet is China’s largest neutral third-party Internet infrastructure service
telecommunications provider to which Microsoft has authorized technologies. In China,
Azure combines Microsoft’s global technologies and 21Vianet’s local operating
experience to build an enterprise-level international cloud computing platform for China.

Outside China, Microsoft Azure is operated by Microsoft itself. China’s Azure customers
will be able to enjoy exactly the same user experiences and service level as customers in
other areas.
4. What is an SLA (Service Level Agreement)? What kind of SLA does Azure offer in
China?
We provide international class Service Level Agreements for each of the Azure services
that are officially available for commercial use. If a certain service level is not reached,
the customer can receive the corresponding service fee deduction. Details on SLAs
provided by Azure in China are listed at: Service Level Agreements.
5. What are some success stories of Azure in China?
In China, a large number of enterprises like GMW.cn, Linekong, Spring Airlines,
Mobike, Digital China, Coca Cola, Kingdee, PPTV, ChinaCache, and Qoros have landed
onto the Azure platform in China. Please go to the Success Stories page for more
information on these cases.