Devising the future with Azure Space

The space industry has been important path for most technological advances in the past decades and what excites me most about this subject is that Microsoft has started engaging with a full spectrum of space industries operating today and paving the way into the future. As Azure Space was announced in 2020, Microsoft saw a chance to innovate new solutions that met modern demands and created opportunities for the future.

By enabling both space agencies and start-ups with new ways to operate satellites in orbit, great innovations have been provided by the workings of Azure Orbital Ground Stations. This has been achieved by integrating the works of 5G, networking, and satellite communication technology on Azure. This enables secure distributed workloads, future-proof connectivity, and realize new business opportunities and this has formed part of Azure Space.

Another great addition to this technology within Azure Space is the Planetary Computer, which has petabytes of data within its catalog which is unimaginable for most of us. Together, with new partnerships with Esri and Synthetaic, Microsoft is paving the way to empower customers through rapid new insights from earth observation data. Microsoft has applied their proven “partner-first” approach to rapidly reimagine traditional space solutions, introducing new software-based tools, and minimizing cost barriers holding back the space ecosystem and by following this “partner-first” approach, it has allowed Microsoft to rapidly go from vision to solutions.

Microsoft has collaborated with a global network of ground stations to enable reliable access to the hyperscale cloud and initiated a groundbreaking project to virtualize satellite communications. These were some of the early results of this innovative endeavor.

What this means for Azure Customers The space industry has undergone a transformation thanks to the innovation of both traditional and emerging players. New types of satellites are being designed and deployed by start-ups, government agencies, and enterprises, who are exploring the potential of Earth observation data for various applications and finding solutions to ensure reliable connectivity across the globe.

Together with Microsoft partners, they are rapidly innovating to provide every space operator with the solutions to solve persistent challenges in new ways and capture new opportunities in the rapidly expanding space sector.

For enterprises this enable modern connected apps globally across a wide range of industries including manufacturing, transportation, logistics, energy, and even defense.

- Delivers ubiquitous and low-latency connectivity anywhere.

- Streamline business operations.

- Create new innovative solutions for mission-critical uses cases in hard-to-reach places.

For telecom operators this technology can future-proof network, drive down costs, and create new revenue streams with Azure by:

- Deliver low-latency applications at the network edge.

- Rapidly monetize new products and services with minimal network impact.

- Use machine learning on network analytics to automate operations and diagnose carrier systems.

Continuity for organizations of all sizes For industries that need high availability, such as healthcare and manufacturing, it is essential to have resilient and failover communications. This can be achieved by using intelligent traffic management that prioritizes the most important data and switches between cellular, fiber, or satellite technology depending on the network conditions.

First responders for Natural Disasters To ensure effective coordination and rapid response in crisis situations, first responders need communication tools that can deliver high-quality data and voice signals with minimal delay across different locations and environments.

What’s next for Azure Space New Azure Space Data solution based on the Microsoft Planetary Computer will enable a comprehensive space network that offers reliable, high-speed, and global data access and analysis in real-time. This platform will be open to all kinds of companies, big and small, who are innovating in the space sector, and Microsoft is eager to work with them as they explore the possibilities of space and humanity's future beyond Earth.

Microsoft will be hosting a webinar on these new innovations in December 2023. To keep up to date on the subject, keep an eye out for announcements on Azure’s Website. For more cost-effective solutions provided by Microsoft Azure, please contact your Surestep Ambassador team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to look at more innovative ways to provide your customer with cloud-based solutions.