Microsoft & Ankr Partner to Offer Blockchain Node Infrastructure Service

Microsoft partnered with web3 infrastructure provider Ankr to offer a node service for enterprises in need of blockchain data access.

The two firms will work together on a new node hosting service in Microsoft's Azure cloud marketplace, with tailored memory and bandwidth specifications for blockchain nodes.

The enterprise node deployment service would enable web3 projects or developers to deploy smart contracts, relay transactions and read or write blockchain data, according to a company release.

"Our partnership with Ankr will enable developers and organizations to access blockchain data in a reliable and secure way as they explore how web3 can address real-world business challenges," said Rashmi Misra, Microsoft's general manager for AI and emerging technologies in the release. "Together, we are building a robust web3 infrastructure layer."

Ankr provides a remote procedure call service (RPC) that allows application developers and users to connect cloud nodes to 19 blockchains, including BNB Chain, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Avalanche.

After this collaboration, developers will be able develop on Ankr's RPCs and middleware platform for decentralized apps, and meet their scaling needs with Microsoft's cloud platform. For example, Azure can optimize transaction processes on multiple proof-of-stake chains and quickly route RPC requests to the most appropriate nodes, according to a note shared with The Block.

Through RPC nodes such as those offered by Ankr, decentralized applications can link to blockchains and access user data. For this reason, they serve as a critical piece of infrastructure for the blockchain sector. Within the infrastructure niche, the RPC continues to be an important vertical and is occupied largely by both centralized and decentralized players including Ankr and competitors such as Infura, QuickNode, Alchemy and others.