Microsoft’s Migration: GitHub Makes the Move to Azure Servers

Microsoft made a significant move in 2018 by acquiring GitHub for $7.5 billion, which initially caused anxiety within the developer community. Since then, GitHub has mostly operated independently within Microsoft, but the recent departure of former CEO Thomas Dohmke has prompted changes in how GitHub functions.

GitHub is now preparing for a major migration to Microsoft’s Azure servers, following Dohmke’s resignation. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have revealed that GitHub will transition to Azure over the next year, a move deemed crucial for the developer platform.

This transition aligns with GitHub’s closer integration into Microsoft’s CoreAI team, a process that began when GitHub became part of Microsoft’s developer division in 2021. Recent weeks have seen an acceleration of GitHub’s integration into Microsoft, especially in anticipation of a broader return-to-office mandate from Microsoft that may affect GitHub employees in the coming year.

Vladimir Fedorov, GitHub’s chief technology officer, announced the Azure migration internally, citing the company’s current data center capacity constraints. GitHub currently relies on its hardware located in Virginia, but the need for increased capacity to support AI and Copilot has prompted the move to Azure.

Microsoft’s senior leadership team is fully supportive of GitHub’s migration to Azure, with CoreAI and Azure mobilizing resources to facilitate the transition. Past attempts to migrate some projects to Azure have faced challenges, and Fedorov emphasized the importance of completing the migration within 12 months.

To ensure a successful migration, GitHub’s leadership team has requested that teams prioritize the Azure migration over new feature development. The goal is to complete the transition within two years, with the majority of the work happening in the next 12 months.

GitHub confirmed the migration in a statement to Notepad, highlighting the need to scale rapidly to meet the growing demand for developer activity and AI workflows. The move to Azure will make GitHub even more integrated within Microsoft, with responsibility increasingly falling under the CoreAI leadership team.

The migration to Azure may lead to potential outages, particularly as GitHub manages complex MySQL clusters. Recent outages experienced by GitHub underscore the importance of a seamless transition to Azure.

In another indication of deeper integration, GitHub is shifting towards using Microsoft productivity tools, encouraging employees to use Microsoft Teams for communication instead of Slack.

Overall, the migration to Azure signifies a significant step for GitHub as it aims to enhance scalability and meet the evolving needs of developers. The transition is expected to bring GitHub closer into the Microsoft ecosystem, with implications for future operations and collaborations.