Instant Access for application-consistent restore points on virtual machines (that have Premium v2 or Ultra disks as data disks) is now generally available. With Instant Access, you can begin restoring a disk from a restore point as soon as the snapshot i

Azure Storage Mover now supports agentless migration of on-premises SMB file shares to Azure Files (SMB), in public preview. You can move file data from Windows Server or NAS shares into Azure without deploying, registering, or maintaining a migration age

Announcing the addition of enhanced secure authentication in Azure Storage that combines the flexibility of user-delegation shared access signature (SAS) with the user-bound access of Entra ID. User-bound user delegation SAS is now generally available for

The Azure Developer CLI (azd) Extension Framework is now generally available. The framework enables developers, teams, and partners to extend Azure Developer CLI with custom capabilities that support their preferred application development workflows.With

Azure automatically recovers a VM when it loses access to an attached managed disk for an extended period. The VM is shut down and powered back on after disk connectivity is restored, with no customer action required. This remains the default behavior.Now

The Azure Files Container Storage Interface (CSI) driver in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) now supports workload identity for pod-level authentication to SMB file shares. Previously, managed identity support in AKS enabled workloads to mount Azure Files w

We’re excited to announce the GA of Live Resize for shared Premium SSD v2 (Pv2) and Ultra data disks. This feature allows you to dynamically expand the storage capacity of your disks without any disruption to your applications. To optimize costs, you can

Azure Storage Mover now supports agentless, cloud-to-cloud migration from AWS FSx for Windows File Server (SMB) to Azure Files (SMB), in preview. You can move your Windows file shares off FSx and into Azure Files without deploying or managing a migration

Azure NetApp Files now supports configuration of SMB opportunistic locking (oplocks) for SMB and dual-protocol volumes. Opportunistic locks (Oplocks) improve SMB client caching and are enabled by default. You can configure oplocks on new volumes or update

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) now generally supports Encryption in Transit (EiT) for Azure Files NFS v4.1 volumes through the Azure File CSI driver. With EiT enabled, data transferred between AKS workloads and Azure Files NFS shares is encrypted using TL

Starting July 15, 2026, advanced platform metrics are available in Public Preview. This update provides enhanced visibility into platform performance, resource health, and operational trends across supported Azure services. With advanced platform metrics,

Microsoft Entra ID-based access for Azure Blob Storage SFTP is now generally available in all regions. You can now use Entra ID identities including guest users via Entra External Identities to securely connect to Azure Blob Storage over SFTP, without pro

Azure introduces Instant Access for VM Restore Points, enabling you to restore disks immediately after a restore point is created—without waiting for background data replication.Key benefits:Faster recovery (lower RTO): Restore disks instantly—no wait for

Azure Storage Mover now supports cloud-to-cloud migration of data from Google Cloud Storage (GCS) to Azure Blob Storage, helping organizations simplify multi-cloud consolidation onto Azure.Using the S3-compatible interface, customers can migrate data from

Azure Blob Storage has long supported data integrity validation, starting with MD5 as part of the original HTTP standards and adding CRC64-NVME support in 2019. Today, CRC64-NVME is now integrated into the latest Azure Blob SDKs for .NET, C++, and JavaScr

Azure NetApp Files migration assistant (with SnapMirror) provides efficient and cost-effective data migration leveraging ONTAP's built-in replication engine for seamless transition from on-premises or CVO/other cloud providers to Azure NetApp Files (ANF).

As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline the Azure Storage portfolio and deliver enhanced performance, scalability, and cost efficiency, we are announcing the retirement of all General purpose v1 (GPv1) storage accounts. This includes legacy blob stor

We are pausing the introduction of a minimum billable object size for the cool, cold, and archive access tiers. As a result, billing behavior will not change on July 1, 2026, for either new or existing storage accounts. We will provide an update on our r