Financial services and investment bank J.P. Morgan has announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding with multinational technology giant Microsoft.
The newly agreed strategic partnership aims to accelerate the adoption of enterprise blockchain using Quorum – an enterprise-focused version of Ethereum, developed by J.P. Morgan.
Quorum will become the first distributed ledger platform available through Azure Blockchain Service therefore enabling J.P. Morgan and Microsoft customers to build and scale blockchain networks in the cloud.
“We are incredibly proud of the success Quorum has had over the last four years, as organizations around the world use Quorum to solve complex business and societal problems via blockchain solutions,” said Umar Farooq, global head of Blockchain, J.P. Morgan.
“We are delighted to partner alongside Microsoft as we continue to strengthen Quorum and expand capabilities and services on the platform. Azure will bring unique strengths to enterprise clients using Quorum.”
J.P Morgan said that partnering with Azure will further strengthen Quorum as a fully integrated, Ethereum-based blockchain platform and suite of applications.
Microsoft will also provide engineering, consulting and go-to-market support for Quorum.
Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of business development, Microsoft commented: “We’re thrilled to partner with a leader like J.P. Morgan to establish a foundation on which enterprises and partners can rapidly build and scale blockchain networks.”
The platform will enable enterprise businesses across all industries to shift their focus from infrastructure management to application development, ultimately driving transformative business value.
J.P. Morgan and Microsoft said the two entities will continue to work together to address common enterprise, independent software vendor, and developer needs for building and deploying blockchain applications on Quorum in the cloud.
Johnson continued: “As digital transformation extends beyond the walls of an individual organization, companies need solutions that enable them to securely share their business processes and data in order to drive imaginative new business models and reinvent industries.
“Together, we’re taking a truly transformative technology like Quorum and making it available through the Azure platform to accelerate innovation for our customers.”
Quorum will continue to power J.P. Morgan and Microsoft blockchain programs plus first-party apps, such as the Interbank Information Network, JPM Coin and Microsoft’s Xbox royalty payment process.
