MicrosoftCorp. joined forces with the R3 Consortium to accelerate the use ofdistributed ledger technologies, also known as blockchain, among R3 memberbanks and global financial markets.

Distributed ledger technologies allow enterprises andbusiness network participants to complete financial transactions with greaterspeed, security, cost-efficiency and transparency as compared to services thatare currently being used, the company said April 4.

Also as part of the partnership, R3 selected Microsoft Azureto be the preferred cloud services provider for its R3 Lab and Research Centerserving more than 40 member banks.

Further, R3 and Consortium members will have access to thesoftware giant's ecosystem of BaaS partners including Ethereum and ConsenSys,Ripple, Eris Industries, Coinprism, Factom, BitPay and others that will assistin the development, testing and deployment of distributed ledger apps in cloud,hybrid and local environments.