Category Archives: Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft’s Earnings get a Big Boost from its Cloud Business

Microsoft’s cloud computing business went into acceleration mode during the last quarter, and this is evident from the latest earnings reported by the company on Thursday. According to a press release, Microsoft’s commercial cloud business, including the sale of cloud-based Office 365, soared by 49 percent from the previous quarter.

Though cloud business is not a separate reporting segment, the online and on-premises versions of its cloud-based software such as Office 365 and Dynamics saw a six percent increase, as sales climbed to a whopping $6.7 billion. Revenue from Azure grew by 116 percent, and the company reports that the use of Azure’s compute service doubled as well during the same period.

These numbers signal a number of things for the company as well as for the industry as a whole. Firstly, there is a digital wave influencing the operations of many mainstream businesses, and Microsoft is making the most of this wave. The company’s overall strategy and long-term vision helped it to position itself to ride this digital wave, and these efforts have definitely paid off.

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, opines that digital technology is not just for the startups located in Silicon Valley, rather they are becoming an integral part of the operations of every company. In this sense, almost every company is becoming a digital one, and Microsoft has positioned itself to serve these companies well.

The second significant aspect about this earning is the change in Microsoft’s business. Earlier, licensing software that customers install on their own computers was a lucrative business for the company. However, declines in this line of business were offset by sales from the cloud business, and this goes to show that cloud business is overtaking software licensing in terms of revenue generation. Going forward, there is a possibility for Microsoft to increase its focus on the cloud business over its licensing segment, though there are no official confirmations in this regard.

Thirdly, these results prove the fact that Microsoft is one of the leading cloud providers out there today. Along with Amazon AWS, a substantial part of the market is shared by these two companies, and much of it can be attributed to the early investments it made in cloud. Machine learning capabilities and a deep business understanding are other factors that have contributed to this stellar growth for Microsoft.

Over the next year too, the company sees a lot of optimism in the cloud market, and it expects sales from its cloud-based platforms to increase. This is good news not just for Microsoft, but for the tech industry as a whole, as many segments are still reeling from the economic slowdown.

All these factors have pushed the price of Microsoft’s shares to an all time high of $60.75 during after-trading hours on Thursday. If this buoyancy continues today, then Microsoft’s shares would set new records for its share price. The highest so far was $59.56 during the dot-com bubble of 1999, and this record could bring much cheer for investors.

The post Microsoft’s Earnings get a Big Boost from its Cloud Business appeared first on Cloud News Daily.

Microsoft, News

Rackspace and Microsoft Azure

Despite rumors of an impending acquisition, Rackspace has recently announced expansion of its Rackspace Managed Security services to Microsoft Azure and developments in its OpenStack technology.

 

Rackspace’s main focus is providing services that offer support for applications not only on its own cloud but third party clouds as well. The service launched in September of 2015 and has been exclusive to Amazon Web Service, Rackspace Dedicated Hosting, and Rackspace Managed VMware.

azure

Rackspace Managed Security for Microsoft Azure will allow those utilizing Azure services to benefit from added security services provided by Rackspace. Rackspace’s technology allows them to not only detect advanced cyber threats, but take action against said threats, setting them apart from their competition.

 

In addition to expanding to Microsoft, Rackspace also made some announcements pertaining to its Openstack private cloud services, which was created with NASA in 2010. OpenStack Clouds have now reached one billion server hours of operation.  

 

Comments:

Brannon Lacey, general manager of Rackspace Managed Security: “In today’s cybersecurity landscape, organizations are no longer asking if they should have a security solution in place, but rather whether they should do it themselves or partner with a trusted managed security service provider. We are proud to extend this security solution to Azure, as it represents the continued growth of our Managed Security capabilities and aligns with the overall Rackspace mission to provide the best expertise and service across the world’s leading clouds.”

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Microsoft, Miscellaneous IT, Video

Preview of Microsoft Stream – a New Business Video Service

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced they are offering a free preview of Microsoft Stream, a new business video service. Anyone with a business email can now sign up for a preview. Microsoft’s goal of the new offering is to allow employees to communicate and collaborate with video in an easier way. Currently, Microsoft is delivering the following features:

  • Sign up in seconds: Get started with Microsoft Stream in as few as five seconds with easy signup and no credit card requirements.
  • Easily upload and organize your video: With easy drag and drop capabilities, upload your videos and organize them by either starting a channel or contributing to a channel based on team, group, topic etc.
  • Discover relevant content: Enhanced content discovery through “trending” videos powered by machine learning, as well as search by hashtag, most liked videos and other key search terms.
  • Watch anywhere, on any device, anytime: View videos in Microsoft Stream on all your devices from anywhere, anytime.
  • Secure video management: Manage who views your video content by determining how widely to share within your organization, and to what channels. Secure application access is enabled by Azure Active Directory, a recognized leader in identity management systems, to protect sensitive corporate content.
  • Follow what matters: Follow channels to see content you want in your Microsoft Stream homepage.
  • Engage with content: Socialize videos by sharing via email, “Like” your favorites and embed videos to webpages within your organization.

To get the full scoop on Microsoft Stream, check out their blog post.

 

Looking for more information around Microsoft cloud solutions? Download our recent webinar!

By Ben Stephenson, Emerging Media Specialist

 

AI, Artificial Intelliegence, Azure, Cortana, Financial Results, Microsoft, News & Analysis, Public Cloud

Microsoft continues cloud transformation with 100% Azure growth

Microsoft1Microsoft has reported 5% growth to $22.6 billion as the Intelligent Cloud business unit led the charge, with the Azure public cloud offering more than doubling in revenues and compute usage, reports Telecoms.com.

The Intelligent Cloud unit, which includes server products and cloud services, Azure and enterprise mobility offerings grew 7% to $6.7 billion, while the Productivity and Business Processes, which includes Office commercial and consumer product lines as well as the Dynamics suite, grew 5% to $7 billion. Despite revenues in More Personal Computing declining 4% to $8.9 billion, Xbox Live monthly active users grew 33% year-over-year to 49 million and search advertising revenue grew 16% over the period.

“We delivered $22.6 billion in revenue this quarter, an increase of 5% for the quarter in constant currency,” said Satya Nadella, CEO at Microsoft. “This past year was pivotal in both our own transformation and in partnering with our customers who are navigating their own digital transformations. The Microsoft Cloud is seeing significant customer momentum and we’re well positioned to reach new opportunities in the year ahead.”

Cloud computing has once again brought Microsoft to the forefront of the technology industry following a challenging couple of years. It would appear the transition from software to cloud computing brand is being successfully navigated, though there were a few missed steps along the way, most notably the team’s foray into mobile. Microsoft is moving towards the position of ‘mega-vendor’, infiltrating almost all aspects of an organization (cloud, hardware, social, databases etc.), to make it an indispensable factor of a CIOs roster.

The Intelligent Cloud unit continues as the focal point of the company’s growth strategy, as Nadella claims nearly 60% of the Fortune 500 companies use at least three of the company’s cloud offerings, generating more than $12 billion in Commercial Cloud annualized revenue run rate.

“Companies looking to digitally transform need a trusted cloud partner and turn to Microsoft,” said Nadella. “As a result, Azure revenue and usage again grew by more than 100% this quarter. We see customers choose Microsoft for three reasons. They want a cloud provider that offers solutions that reflect the realities of today’s world and their enterprise-grade needs. They want higher level services to drive digital transformation, and they want a cloud open to developers of all types.”

AI has previously been positioned as one of the cornerstones of growth for the company, and this was reinforced during the earnings call, as Nadella noted the component of the Intelligent Cloud business unit. The Cortana Intelligence Suite, formerly known as Cortana Analytics Suite, is built on the company’s on-going research into big data, machine learning, perception, analytics and intelligent bots. The offering allows developers to build apps and bots which interact with customers in a personalized way, but also react to real-world developments in real-time.

“Just yesterday, we announced Boeing will use Azure, our IoT suite, and Cortana Intelligence to drive digital transformation in commercial aviation, with connected airline systems optimization, predictive maintenance, and much more,” said Nadella. “This builds on great momentum in IoT. This is great progress, but our ambitions are set even higher. Our Intelligent Cloud also enables cognitive services. Cortana Intelligence Suite offers machine learning capabilities and advanced predictive analytics.

“Central to our Intelligent Cloud ambition is providing developers with the tools and capabilities they need to build apps and services for the platforms and devices of their choice. The new Azure Container service as well as .NET Core 1.0 for open source and our ongoing work with companies such as Red Hat, Docker, and Mesosphere reflects significant progress on this front. We continue to see traction from open source, with nearly a third of customer virtual machines on Azure running Linux.”

The company exceeded analyst expectations for the quarter, which was reflected in pre-market trading which saw shares in the giant growing 4%. In terms of outlook for the next quarter, most business units are expected to be down a fraction on the Q2 reported figures, unsurprising considering the summer period. Intelligent Cloud is expected to bring between $6.1-6.3 million, Productivity and Business Processes $6.4-6.6 billion, and More Personal Computing $8.7-9 billion.

Microsoft, News, Services

Microsoft’s Cloud Drives Fourth Quarter Revenue

Microsoft’s fourth quarter has been a tale of growth and decline, with earnings much higher than expert predictions. Net income reached $5.5 billion while revenue came to $22.6 billion, which is significantly larger than the anticipated $22.1 billion. The driving force behind this massive growth: the cloud.

Microsoft’s intelligent cloud division reported a 7% increase in revenue, boosting it up to $6.7 billion. Microsoft Azure alone grew 102% with cloud services also seeing an increase of 5%. This significant increase in the cloud computing sector is largely due to CEO Satya Nadella, as he poured billions of dollars into growing the cloud and building new data centers around the world as well as partnering and acquiring many companies, including Tigo and GE. In addition, Office 365 saw a 54% increase while Office consumer products and cloud services grew 19%.

office 365

However, not all of Microsoft’s sectors experienced growth. The More Personal Computing sector experienced a 4% decline largely due to a 71% decrease in phone sales.

Windows 10 also grew 16%, while Microsoft announced that its plan to have Windows 10 on one billion devices by the year 2018 is unlikely to come to fruition in that short time span,

Microsoft closed its fiscal year with $92 billion in revenue and $22.3 billion in net income.

Previously an industry dominated by Amazon, Microsoft, as well as IBM and Google, are making significant advances with the cloud. This is likely to lead to increased competition within the industry, which will drive steep cloud service prices down.

Comments:

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: “The past year was pivotal in both our own transformation and in partnering with our customers who are navigating their own digital transformations. The Microsoft Cloud is seeing significant customer momentum and we’re well positioned to reach new opportunities in the year ahead.”

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Microsoft, News, Services

Tigo, Microsoft Partner to Bring Cloud Services to Latin America

Millicom has recently announced that its Tigo Business Brand and Microsoft will collaborate to bring cloud computing services to businesses in Latin America through Microsoft Cloud OS Network. This partnership will allow companies in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Paraguay to access data services and increased security provided by the two companies.  

 

Tigo Business and Microsoft’s Azure Cloud will provide a plethora of services and solutions while enabling customers to regulate their infrastructure needs efficiently. The combination of the two companies infrastructure will allow large businesses access to many services such as Disaster Recovery and added security. Virtual Desktop and Data Base are among many services listed under the as-a-service model that will also be provided.

tigo

The two companies has also established a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program that will allow Tigo Business to sell MIcrosoft CSP license aimed at targeting small and medium businesses. Tigo will also provide support for cloud-based Microsoft products including Office 365.

 

About Tigo:

Operating under international telecommunications company Millicom, Tigo provides a multitude of services to Latin America. Launched in 2004, Tigo now provides services to over 60 million customers and is one of the largest mobile operators in Latin America.

 

Comments:

Marcelo Benitez, VP Tigo Business: “The Tigo Business and Microsoft partnership offers a significant opportunity to bring cost, service and security benefits to businesses across the Latam region. Tigo Business is known for its fast delivery, and for supporting its business partners in executing cloud strategies efficiently and reliably. Now we can also offer truly innovative packages to our clients. Small and medium sized businesses are the engines of the economy in the region, and this partnership will help businesses to continue their digital transformations and capture the growth ahead.”

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Microsoft, News, Services

GE and Microsoft Collaborate

GE and Microsoft have recently announced a partnership in which GE’s Predix platform-as-a-service (PaaS) will be offered through Microsoft’s Azure cloud. This collaboration brings GE’s Internet of Things (IoT) to the software giant’s cloud. The announcement was made during Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto, Canada.

 

Existing Predix customers who are already with GE will gain access to Azure’s Data as well as Cortsns snd global infrastructure centers. There are plans to strengthen this partnership between the two companies by further integrating Predix into Microsoft’s products such as Azure’s IoT Suite, Cortana Analytics Suite, and Office 365.

predix

 

This partnership joins Microsoft’s other cloud software space collaborations with companies including SAP and Red Hat.

 

About Predix: Introduced in 2015, Predix is a cloud based Platform-as-a-Service. GE utilizes the software platform to collect data from industrial machines. Predix was designed to develop, deploy, operate, and monetize Industrial Internet applications.

 

About Azure: Released in 2010, Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform intended  to manage applications and services through Microsoft data centers. Azure provides Platform as a Service (PaaS) as well as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

 

Comments:

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: “Working with companies like GE, we can reach a new set of customers to help them accelerate their transformation across every line of business – from the factory floor to smart buildings.”

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acquisition, Financing, LinkedIn, Microsoft, News & Analysis, Social

SEC filing shows LinkedIn negotiating skills are worth $5bn

Microsoft To Layoff 18,000The US Securities and Exchange Committee has released its filings outlining the road to Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn, during which $5 billion was added to the value of the deal, reports Telecoms.com.

Five parties were involved in the saga, which eventually led to the news breaking on June 13, with Microsoft agreeing to acquire LinkedIn in an all-cash deal worth $26.2 billion. Although it has not been confirmed by the companies themselves according to Re/code Party A, which kicked the frenzy, was Salesforce. Party B was Google, which was also interested in pursuing the acquisition.

Party C and Party D were contacted by LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner to register interest however both parties declined after a couple of days consideration. Party C remains unknown, though Party D is believed to be Facebook, who even if had shown interest in the deal, may have faced a tough time in passing the agreement by competition authorities.

In terms of the timeline, a business combination was first discussed by Weiner and Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO during a meeting on February 16, with Party A being brought into the frame almost a month later on March 10. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has confirmed several times in recent weeks his team were in discussions with LinkedIn regarding the acquisition. In the following days, Party B was brought into the mix, also declaring interest. Once the interest of Party A and B were understood, Microsoft was brought back into the mix on March 15 with the report stating:

“Mr. Weiner called Mr. Nadella to inquire as to whether Microsoft was interested in discussing further a potential acquisition of LinkedIn, and explained that, although LinkedIn was not for sale, others had expressed interest in an acquisition. Mr. Nadella responded that he would discuss the matter further with Microsoft’s board of directors.”

Prior to the agreement LinkedIn was valued at roughly $130 per share, with the initial offer recorded at $160. Microsoft eventually paid $196 per share, though this was not the highest bid received. The company referred to as Party A in the document put an offer forward of $200 per share, though this would be half cash and half shares in the company. Weiner negotiating skills have seemingly added approximately 50% to the value of LinkedIn shares and bumping up the total value of the deal by $5 billion.

The exclusivity agreement was signed on May 14, though pressure had been put on LinkedIn by both Microsoft and Party A in the weeks prior. It would appear Party A had not been deterred by the agreement, as additional bids were made, once again driving up the perceived value of LinkedIn shares. Microsoft’s offer of $182 was no longer perceived high enough, and encouraged to match Party A’s offer of $200. The report states LinkedIn Executive Chairman Reid Hoffman was in favour of an all cash deal, allowing Microsoft extra negotiating room. Nadella was eventually informed on June 10 the offer had been authorized by the LinkedIn Transactions Committee.

Although Microsoft could be seen to overpaying on the price, it would be worth noting LinkedIn has been valued at higher. The company initially launched its IPO in 2011 and had a promising year in 2013 increasing the share price from $113.5 to over $200 across the 12 month period. Share prices rose to over $250 last November, following quarterly results in February, share prices dropped 44% after projected full-year revenues at $3.6 billion to $3.65 billion, versus $3.9 billion expected by analysts. Considering the fall in fortunes, it may be fair to assume shareholders would be pleased with the value of the deal approaching $200 per share.

While Microsoft has been a relatively quiet player in the social market prior to the acquisition, though this could be seen as a means to penetrate the burgeoning market segment. Although the place of social media in the workplace remains to be seen, Microsoft has essentially bought a substantial amount of data, including numerous high-net worth individuals and important decision makers throughout the world. LinkedIn currently has roughly 431 million members and is considered to be the largest professional social media worldwide.

Another explanation for the deal could be the value of Microsoft to IT decision makers. A report from JPMorgan stated Microsoft would be considered the most important vendor by CIOs to their organization due to the variety of services offered. AWS is generally considered to be the number one player in the public cloud market, though Microsoft offers a wider range of enterprise products including servers, data centres, security solutions, and cloud offerings, amongst many more. Now social can be added to the list. As Microsoft increases its offerings, it could penetrate further into a company’s fabric, making it a much more complicated decision to change vendor.

AWS, Google, Hotels.com, Microsoft, News & Analysis, Public Cloud

The rest of the world is catching up with AWS – Hotels.com CIO

Speaking at Cloud and DevOps World, Hotels.com CIO Theirry Bedos outlined some of the cloud industry’s growing trends, including the erosion of AWS’ dominant position, reports Telecoms.com.

The growth of the cloud industry has been well documented over recent months, as numerous studies and surveys dominate web searches claiming adoption rates are accelerating. While it is still debatable if cloud has penetrated the mainstream market, according to Bedos, what is clear is the industry is heading that direction; there’s no turning around now.

“The world is becoming fluffier and fluffier,” said Bedos. “There are countless studies and surveys on the internet which show the cloud is becoming more popular and widely used, which is only good for the industry. AWS is still the number one player in the market, but the rest are starting to catch up now. This is one of the most interesting trends which we are seeing.”

As with the acceptance and adoption of any new technology, there are bound to be a number of underlying trends. For Bedos, one of the more interesting of those trends is the acceptance there is another way aside from AWS.

While AWS is still considered the leader in the industry, controlling notably more market share than other cloud providers, the lead is slimming. Microsoft and Google have both been prominent over the course of the last 18 months in bolstering their cloud capabilities, and this has not gone unnoticed by the industry. Although cloud adoption rates are increasing, AWS is getting a smaller and smaller slice of the pie as customers are taking alternatives into consideration.

This should not be considered a major surprise, as this is a trend which has been witnessed with the growth of other technology sub-sectors. Back in the early 2000s, Netscape’s web browser was once dominant in terms of usage share, but lost most of that share to Internet Explorer during the so-called first ‘Browser War’. Bedos highlighted Netscape was first to market, and enjoyed that position for some time until the proposition became normalized and competition grew. This is the same trend AWS is undertaking currently.

“I’m not saying AWS will disappear in the same way Netscape did, but we’re going to see other players chip away at their market share,” said Bedos. That said, the increased competition and drive to acquire new customers could see the balance of power shift towards the consumer.

On top of the increased competition, Bedos also commented on the USPs of the individual cloud providers themselves. Buyers generally buy for a specific reason and these USPs in the cloud provider’s offerings is starting to fund the trend of multi-cloud environments in the enterprise business. Why choose when you can have the best of multiple cloud worlds? For Bedos, this is driving the trend of interoperability. Before too long moving workloads and data sets between different cloud environments will be a simple task, as vendors appreciate a lock-in situation will negatively impact their own business. Co-operation could potentially be the new battle ground.

AWS will continue; they are continuing to innovate and have the backing of one of the worlds’ most recognizable brands. However, increased competition, as well as the tendency of buyers to prefer a multi-cloud proposition, will see a more even playing field, and the bargaining power of these deals potentially leaning towards the consumer.

AI, Artificial intelligence, Google, Machine learning, Microsoft, News & Analysis, Twitter

Machine learning front and centre of R&D for Microsoft and Google

Dear Future Im Ready, message on paper, smart phone and coffee on tableMicrosoft and Google have announced plans to expand their machine learning capabilities, through acquisition and new research offices respectively, reports Telecoms.com.

Building on the ‘Conversation-as-a-Platform’ proposition put forward by CEO Satya Nadella at Build 2016, the Microsoft team has announced plans to acquire Wand Labs. The purchase will add weight to the ‘Conversation-as-a-Platform’ strategy, as well as supporting innovation ambitions for Bing intelligence.

“Wand Labs’ technology and talent will strengthen our position in the emerging era of conversational intelligence, where we bring together the power of human language with advanced machine intelligence,” said David Ku, Corporate Vice President of the Information Platform Group on the company’s official blog. “It builds on and extends the power of the Bing, Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Windows platforms to empower developers everywhere.”

More specifically, Wand Labs adds expertise in semantic ontologies, services mapping, third-party developer integration and conversational interfaces, to the Microsoft engineering team. The ambition of the overarching project is to make the customers experience more seamless by harnessing human language in an artificial environment.

Microsoft’s move into the world of artificial intelligence and machine learning has not been a smooth ride to date, though this has not seemed to hinder investment. Back in March, the company’s AI inspired Twitter account Tay went into melt-down mode, though the team pushed forward, updating its Cortana Intelligence Suite and releasing its Skype Bot Platform. Nadella has repeatedly highlighted artificial intelligence and machine learning is the future for the company, stating at Build 2016:

“As an industry, we are on the cusp of a new frontier that pairs the power of natural human language with advanced machine intelligence. At Microsoft, we call this Conversation-as-a-Platform, and it builds on and extends the power of the Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Windows platforms to empower developers everywhere.”

Google’s efforts in the machine learning world have also been pushed forward this week, as the team announced dedicated machine learning research based in the Zurich offices, on its blog. The team will focus on three areas specifically, machine intelligence, natural language processing & understanding, as well as machine perception.

Like Microsoft, Google has prioritized artificial intelligence and machine learning, though both companies will be playing catch-up with the likes of IBM and AWS, whose AI propositions have been in the market for some time. Back in April, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in the company’s earnings call “overall, I do think in the long run, I think we will evolve in computing from a mobile first to an AI first world,” outlining the ambitions of the team.

Google itself already has a number of machine learning capabilities incorporated in its product portfolio, those these could be considered as relatively rudimentary. Translate, Photo Search and SmartReply for Inbox already contains aspects of machine learning, though the team are targeting more complex and accurate competencies.

Elsewhere, Twitter has announced on their blog advertisers will now be able to utilize emoji keyword targeting for Twitter Ads. This new feature uses emoji activity as a signal of a person’s mood or mind set, allowing advertisers to more effectively communicate marketing messages minimizing the potential for backlash of disgruntled twitter users. Although the blog does not state the use of machine learning competencies, it does leave the opportunity for future innovation in the area.