Microsoft to help develop advanced message queuing protocol

Microsoft will help develop an open standard called the advanced message queuing protocol. This software protocol is intended for the internal and external exchange of complex messages within organizations.

The messaging standard being developed by the Amqp working group will be cross-platform and open, allowing any developer to implement the standard in their own software. The Amqp group confirms that it is not the first to make such an attempt. A big difference compared to the other protocols, however, is that Amqp also imposes requirements on server semantics, enabling interoperability with multiple server implementations.

Microsoft has been recommended by some of its customers requested to participate in the AMQP working group. According to Sam Ramji, Microsoft’s senior director responsible for platform strategy, customers are looking for scalable solutions coupled with lower costs that allow their software to exchange messages inside and outside the corporate infrastructure. The standard that is being developed within the Amqp working group offers these possibilities, says Ramji.

While it may appear that Microsoft is participating ‘under duress’ within the Amqp working group, this is not the case, writes Ars Technica. The Redmond-based company wants to make its software more interoperable with the products of other suppliers, and in that context, specifications of some Microsoft products and technologies have already been released, for example. Whether the company will implement the Amqp standard left Microsoft in the middle. The main thing is that Microsoft listens and learns from the wishes that customers express for Amqp, according to a company spokesperson.