R3 and Microsoft have expanded their strategic partnership to further boost the adoption of R3’s Corda platform amongst businesses using Microsoft Azure.

Microsoft first entered into a partnership with R3 in April 2016. The partnership will now offer deeper integration of the Corda platform with Azure making it easier for businesses to deploy underlying computing resources for blockchain networks.

The partners also aim to offer effortless deployment of Corda and Corda networks on Azure, which will enable businesses to set up Corda nodes and networks quickly, thereby reducing time and cost of deployment. Businesses would also be able to leverage Corda’s advanced integration capabilities to enable seamless integration of Azure services with Corda, including SQL Database and in the future other services such as Azure Active Directory, Key Vault, and Express Route. This will enable developers to design and build apps on Corda, known as CorDapps, using familiar tools.

“Deepening our relationship with Microsoft helps put Corda at the fingertips of millions of businesses across the globe. The platform gives companies complete freedom to develop and deploy innovative DLT-based solutions to their customers’ specific challenges. Integrating Corda with Azure streamlines and simplifies the development and deployment process and ultimately helps businesses expedite commercial deployment of CorDapps,” David E. Rutter, CEO of R3, said.

R3 recently launched version 1.0 of Corda, achieving stability of the platform’s core application programming interface (API). Over 60 partners including large Independent Software Vendors and System Integrators from regions around the world have selected Corda to develop solutions across a wide variety of industries.