# Ross Ortega

> Ross Ortega is VP of Product Management at Microsoft, currently leading Discovery and Communications initiatives. He previously built a $1 billion portfolio of Azure networking services - including ExpressRoute, Virtual WAN, Application Gateway, and Web Application Firewall - and then led Azure for Operators, Microsoft's 5G and edge computing platform for telecommunications providers. Before Microsoft, he co-founded Consystant Design Technologies and served as President and CTO of GraniteEdge Networks. A career technologist with roots in embedded systems and networking, Ortega has spent over two decades at Microsoft shaping how enterprises and telecoms connect to the cloud.

- **Role:** VP Product Management, Microsoft Discovery and Communications
- **Organizations:** Microsoft, Consystant Design Technologies, GraniteEdge Networks
- **Nationality:** American
- **Known for:** Built a $1 billion portfolio of Azure networking services from the ground up, including ExpressRoute, Virtual WAN, and Application Gateway., Co-founded Consystant Design Technologies, an embedded software startup that secured Matsushita Electric Works as an early customer., Led Microsoft Azure for Operators, positioning Microsoft as a platform for telecom 5G infrastructure and network function virtualization.

## Career timeline

- **1999-2003** — Co-founded Consystant Design Technologies; served as President and CTO. Developed embedded software tools abstracting developers from hardware, with support for Linux and VxWorks. Customers included Matsushita Electric Works.
- **2003-2007** — President and CTO at GraniteEdge Networks, a venture-backed startup focused on networking software and network behavioral analysis.
- **~2007** — Joined Microsoft, initially focused on Windows Networking - Network Virtualization, Hyper-V switch security, and network performance.
- **2010s** — Led Azure Networking product management, creating a $1 billion portfolio of services including ExpressRoute, VPN, Virtual WAN, Application Gateway, Web Application Firewall, Bastion Host, Route Server, Private MEC, and Network Virtual Appliances ecosystem.
- **2019** — Presented Azure Virtual WAN at MEF19, articulating Microsoft's perspective on SD-WAN and the impact of Office 365 on enterprise networking.
- **2020s** — VP Product Management, Azure for Operators - leading 5G and edge computing products including Public MEC and Azure Operator Distributed Services (AODS).
- **2023** — Featured in GSMA Open Gateway Spotlight video discussing how 5G open APIs enable developers to build applications leveraging 5G networks.
- **2024-present** — VP Product Management, Microsoft Discovery and Communications.

## Achievements

- Built a $1 billion portfolio of Azure networking services from the ground up, including ExpressRoute, Virtual WAN, and Application Gateway.
- Co-founded Consystant Design Technologies, an embedded software startup that secured Matsushita Electric Works as an early customer.
- Led Microsoft Azure for Operators, positioning Microsoft as a platform for telecom 5G infrastructure and network function virtualization.
- Established the Azure Networking Managed Service Provider Program, onboarding major partners like CenturyLink and Vandis.
- Brokered global partnerships including Liquid Intelligent Technologies for Pan-African Azure ExpressRoute expansion.
- Presented Azure Virtual WAN strategy at MEF19, influencing industry thinking on SD-WAN and cloud networking convergence.
- Presented at Microsoft Ignite 2015 on hybrid cloud networking partnerships.

## Latest updates

- **2024** — Serving as VP Product Management, Microsoft Discovery and Communications.
- **2023-03** — Featured in GSMA Open Gateway Spotlight video discussing how open 5G APIs enable developer platforms.
- **2023** — Leading Azure for Operators including Azure Operator Nexus and Azure Operator Distributed Services (AODS) for 5G network function virtualization.

## Links

- Website: https://microsoft.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rossortega

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ross-ortega
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-31